Main Engine Cut OffTom Marotta of The Spaceport Company joins me to talk about the executive order this week focused on commercial space regulatory reform, what problems it seeks to solve, his experience on both sides of those issues, and how we should understand the positioning of the order.
Caleb Henry, Director of Research at Quilty Space, joins me to talk megaconstellations, the hypersonics industry, and more.
Jared Isaacman was in Congress for a confirmation hearing for his nomination as NASA Administrator, which was followed up by reports of huge proposed budget cuts at NASA and NOAA. And as expected, SpaceX, ULA, and Blue Origin all received awards for NSSL Phase 3 Lane 2.
A special preview of MECO Headlines, covering Starship Flight 6, ABL’s pivot to missile defense, and much more. Subscribe today to get Headlines regularly!
SpaceX and the FAA have been going a few rounds back and forth in public over fines and delays. It’s weird and inscrutable but maybe helpful in the long run in a few ways.
NASA selected the organizations who will be carrying out mission design studies for the Mars Sample Return rethink, and the US Space Force selected the first 3 bidders for the National Security Space Launch Program Phase 3 Lane 1.
Starliner flew its first crew, Starship flew its fourth flight, Chang’e-6 collected its first samples, and Agnikul Cosmos flew its first mission.
United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan debut went smoothly, but sluggish hardware integration raises doubts about meeting commitments, while Orion faces heat shield issues, potentially shaking up the Artemis manifest.
Eric Berger of Ars Technica joins me to talk about Intuitive Machine’s successful landing despite so many issues on the mission, the future of CLPS, and the tough questions facing NASA and its budget.
I catch up with a round up of stories from January: ULA’s first Vulcan launch, Blue Origin’s success with its BE-4 engines and what it means for their year, Astrobotic’s Peregrine mission, JAXA’s SLIM mission, and NASA’s announcement of Artemis delays.