T+45: 2018 Air Force Launch Vehicle Contracts, and the Dim Future of Antares

T+20: Mike Johnson, Chief Designer at NanoRacks on NanoRacks’ History, NextSTEP, and Wet Workshops: Mike Johnson, Chief Designer at NanoRacks, joined me this week to talk about his incredibly interesting career in spaceflight, the past and future of NanoRacks, their NextSTEP proposal, and a handful of other topics. by Main Engine Cut Off

52 min listen

T+14: The Post-EM-1 Roadmap for SLS, and Potential Uses for SpaceX’s BFR: Before Mars and exploration-centric talk, I talk about Orbital ATK’s agreement for exclusive use of LMP-103S. Then I take a hard look at the post-EM-1 roadmap for SLS, and theorize some potential uses for SpaceX’s giant Mars-bound rocket—lovingly referred to as the Big F…alcon… Rocket (BFR). by Main Engine Cut Off

26 min listen

T+15: More SLS Roadmap Details, and Landed Falcon 9 Static Fires: The roadmap for SLS got a little murkier this week thanks to some additional details in the GAO report regarding its cost and schedule. SpaceX test fired a landed core three times in three days last week, paving the way for reuse of the CRS-8 core. by Main Engine Cut Off

18 min listen

T+6: Orbital ATK’s Next-Gen Vehicle, Falcon 9 Proving Its Reusability, and ULA’s Tough Future: Orbital ATK [shared some more details](http://spaceflightnow.com/2016/05/27/details-of-orbital-atks-proposed-heavy-launcher-revealed) about their next-generation launch vehicle, SpaceX is working out their [certification process](http://spacenews.com/spacex-to-brief-underwriters-on-the-road-to-falcon-9-reusability/) for [reflown stages](http://www.spacenewsmag.com/feature/first-stage-the-air-force-looks-at-reusability/), and how these events affect the industry and other competitors in the near future. by Main Engine Cut Off

16 min listen

T-0: The Near Future of US-Based Competitors: An analysis of the intricate dance between [United Launch Alliance](http://www.ulalaunch.com), [SpaceX](http://www.spacex.com), and [Blue Origin](https://www.blueorigin.com) as we enter the next era of spaceflight. by Main Engine Cut Off

18 min listen

T+2: SpaceX’s Red Dragon, Falcon Performance, and the Political Fallout of OA-6: SpaceX officially announced their [first Red Dragon mission to Mars](https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016/04/spacex-debut-red-dragon-2018-mars-mission/), which will pave the way for future missions. They also posted [new performance metrics](http://www.spacex.com/about/capabilities) for Falcon 9 and Heavy, which position the launch vehicles very differently in the market. And a brief discussion of the [potential political fallout](http://spacenews.com/the-rd-180-amendment-was-one-of-two-launch-related-provisions-that-made-it-into-the-national-defense-authorization-act-of-2017-by-the-time-the-committee-voted-60-to-2-to-send-the-bill-to-the-full/) over the [OA-6 launch anomaly](https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016/04/oa-6-atlas-v-booster-mrcv-anomoly/). by Main Engine Cut Off

14 min listen

T+18: Robert Zubrin on Mars Exploration and Colonization Internationally, within NASA, and at SpaceX: Dr. Robert Zubrin, President of The Mars Society, creator of Mars Direct, and author of The Case for Mars is on the show this week to discuss Mars exploration and colonization internationally, within NASA, and at SpaceX. by Main Engine Cut Off

35 min listen

T+19: SpaceX’s Manifest, Flight-Proven Hardware, Blue Origin Updates, and Antares’ Engines: SpaceX has a busy manifest as they close out 2016, including SES-10 which will fly with a “flight-proven” first stage. A few bits of info have come out regarding Blue Origin’s future plans—including flying diverse payloads on New Shepard, and construction of their factory in Florda. Antares’ return-to-flight launch date is still a mystery, and I have a theory about its future engines. by Main Engine Cut Off

30 min listen

T+5: Space Stations Around the Moon and Mars, ExoMars 2016, and China’s Momentum in Space: Orbital ATK and Lockheed Martin unveiled proposals for space stations around the [Moon by 2020](https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016/05/orbital-atk-cislunar-habitat-missions-sls-orion), and [Mars by 2028](http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/organizations/lockheed-martin-organizations/lockheed-martin-outlines-plan-to-send-humans-to-mars-orbit-by-2028/). ExoMars 2016 completed a [functionality analysis test](https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/worldwide/space/press-release/thales-alenia-space-built-exomars-spacecraft-completes-functionality) ahead of its October arrival at Mars. China revealed plans for [its third space station](http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/missions/human-spaceflight/china-reveals-design-planned-tiangong-3-space-station/), and is set to [launch a new rocket](http://spaceflightnow.com/2016/05/18/china-to-debut-new-rocket-and-spaceport-next-month), with a new spacecraft, from a new lau by Main Engine Cut Off

17 min listen

T+9: ExoMars 2016 and 2020, Chinese Partnerships and Policy: The ExoMars 2020 rover received a funding boost and a reassessed schedule, the 2016 orbiter/lander set its sights on Mars, NASA and ESA coordinated a practice communication session, and China opens up to the international space community. by Main Engine Cut Off

18 min listen

T+13: SpaceX’s CRS-9 Success, Senate Hearing Recap, and US-Russian Plans for the Moon: SpaceX had a great night launching the CRS-9 mission, and it’s all good signs for their future. The Senate hearing, as I predicted, was focused on maintaining the status quo. US and Russian engineers and scientists have some ideas on the future of international space policy. by Main Engine Cut Off

25 min listen

T+3: Falcon 9 GTO Mission Drone Ship Landing, Orbital ATK’s Current and Future Launch Vehicles: SpaceX [landed another Falcon 9 first stage](https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016/05/falcon-9-jcsat-14-launch/) on their drone ship—this time on a GTO launch, which is a major milestone on their way to full reusability and [Falcon Heavy flights](http://spaceflightnow.com/2016/05/03/spacex-undecided-on-payload-for-first-falcon-heavy-flight/). Orbital ATK’s Antares launch vehicle is set for [an early July return to flight](http://spaceflightnow.com/2016/05/09/key-return-to-flight-milestone-looms-for-antares-rocket/), and they’re in the planning stages of [a new heavy-launch vehicle](https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016/04/orbital-atk-eye-vab-mlp-potential-eelv-rocket/). by Main Engine Cut Off

12 min listen

T+37: Government Subsidies, Private Capability, and the 2010 National Space Policy: Four members of the House of Representatives sent letters to DARPA and the Pentagon this week to file a complaint about a program in conflict with the 2010 National Space Policy. It’s a situation reminiscent of the debate over commercial use of retired ICBMs as low-cost launch vehicles, except this time, Orbital ATK is on the other side. I discuss the current issues and how their resolution may affect future policy decisions. by Main Engine Cut Off

20 min listen

T+4: Boeing’s CST-100, SpaceX’s Dragon 2, and a Scorched Falcon 9: Boeing announced [a 6 month delay](http://spacenews.com/boeing-delays-first-crewed-cst-100-flight-to-2018/) in the schedule for their CST-100 crew vehicle. SpaceX’s Dragon 2 is in the lead to be the first Commercial Crew vehicle to fly. The most recently-returned Falcon 9 took [a ton of damage on its way back to the drone ship](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/731984739012251648) and won’t fly again, but will provide a ton of data for SpaceX to use to make improvements to future Falcon 9 stages. by Main Engine Cut Off

14 min listen

T+12: The Competition of Reusability Between Falcon 9, Vulcan, and Ariane 6: Ted Cruz called a hearing on NASA’s space exploration policy in the next president’s administration. The president of France’s CNES discussed some policy statements, and I went on a rant about his thoughts on Ariane 6 and its competition. by Main Engine Cut Off

23 min listen

T+41: EM-1 Follow-up, Dragon 2-Falcon Heavy to the Moon: This week is all about #hotdrama, with two surprise media briefings: one from NASA on a potential crewed EM-1, and one from SpaceX on a privately-crewed journey around the Moon—riding on a Dragon 2 and Falcon Heavy—at the end of 2018. I discuss the implications of both, and go on a rant about SpaceX and “focus.” This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 5 executive producers—Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, and one anonymous—and 34 other supporters on Patreon. by Main Engine Cut Off

41 min listen

T+17: NextSTEP Habitat Prototypes, and the Zombie Centaur: NASA selected six companies, as part of the NextSTEP program, to develop ground prototypes of deep space habitats, and the Centaur could live on as a wet workshop. Orbital ATK pushed OA-5 to late September. SpaceX landed yet another stage on the ASDS, and have up to 9 more launches planned for 2016. by Main Engine Cut Off

29 min listen

T+29: Commercializing the NASA Exploration Roadmap: Following up on last show’s topic, there are signs that NASA may be moving away from Orion in the future. I discuss how I see NASA modernizing their exploration roadmap, politically, in the next administration. by Main Engine Cut Off

33 min listen

T+7: Bezos and Musk at Code Conference, and a Hard Look at Vulcan’s Economics: Some interesting tidbits emerged from interviews with [Jeff Bezos](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guVxubbQQKE) and [Elon Musk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsixsRI-Sz4) at Code Conference. And a hard look at the economics of [United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan](http://www.ulalaunch.com/Products_Vulcan.aspx). by Main Engine Cut Off

25 min listen

T+1: The Near Future of NASA’s Orion and SLS Programs: An analysis of NASA’s human spaceflight programs, [Orion](http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/orion/index.html) and the [Space Launch System](http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/rocket.html). How we got here, where we’re going, and how things could shake out with an eventful November in US politics coming up. by Main Engine Cut Off

12 min listen

T+95: September Q&A: This month, I take on questions about BE-4 and Vulcan, small launch, BFR, and human spaceflight. by Main Engine Cut Off

36 min listen

T+8: Masten’s Xodiac and XaeroB, Blue Origin’s Next Flight of New Shepard: Masten Space Systems released a video of test flights of their two latest vehicles. Blue Origin was awarded a NASA Flight Opportunities contract, is planning the 4th flight of New Shepard, and began clearing land for their factory just outside Kennedy Space Center. by Main Engine Cut Off

13 min listen

T+40: The Potentially Infamous EM-1 Memo: Robert Lightfoot, the Acting NASA Administrator, sent a memo to the agency on the possibility of putting a crew on EM-1. I discuss the potential fallout from this idea and where the SLS/Orion program may be heading in the future. by Main Engine Cut Off

26 min listen

T+11: SpaceX’s LZ-1 Expansion, Dream Chaser’s UN Ambitions, China and ESA’s Growing Relationship: SpaceX printed a public notice in Florida Today on July 3rd outlining plans for LZ-1 expansion. Sierra Nevada Corporation and the United Nations signed a Memorandum of Understanding regarding future use of Dream Chaser by UN member countries. China solidified partnerships with The Netherlands and Poland, continuing the growth of the China-ESA relationship. by Main Engine Cut Off

25 min listen

T+10: Logan Kamperschroer on the Current State and Near Future of Storable Propellants: This week I talked to Logan Kamperschroer, a Graduate Research Assistant at the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue University. Logan’s research focuses on hypergolic rocket fuels—specifically the push to move away from the toxic storable propellants (hydrazine and its derivatives) to “greener” alternatives. We talked about the current state of storable propellants, and where things are going in the near future. by Main Engine Cut Off

28 min listen

T+36: Falcon 9 Flies with New Fueling Procedures, and the NASA-Boeing-Soyuz Saga: SpaceX is off to a strong start in 2017 with a very successful launch of Iridium-1 and a promising next few weeks. I also discuss the very interesting story developing between NASA, Boeing, and Russia regarding Soyuz flights to the ISS. by Main Engine Cut Off

30 min listen

T+45: 2018 Air Force Launch Vehicle Contracts, and the Dim Future of Antares: As the award date approaches for the 2018 Air Force launch vehicle development contracts, we keep hearing from Congress about how they would like to see it go. And I discuss the future of Antares and the Next-Generation Launch Vehicle in light of the continuing flights of Cygnus on Atlas V. by Main Engine Cut Off

37 min listen

T+23: SpaceX Mars Architecture Initial Reactions: Elon Musk took the stage at the IAC this week and unveiled SpaceX’s architecture for their planetary exploration and colonization plans. Jake from WeMartians and I discuss our initial reactions to and takeaways from the event. by Main Engine Cut Off

58 min listen

T+22: SpaceX Mars Architecture Announcement Preamble: SpaceX is set to make an announcement next week at the IAC 2016 regarding their Mars colonization architecture. I talk about what we know, what I expect to see, and what I hope is included in their plans. by Main Engine Cut Off

41 min listen

T+38: 2017 NASA Transition Authorization Act Speculation: Marcia Smith of SpacePolicyOnline.com saw a draft of the 2017 NASA Transition Authorization Act, and it contains some very interesting changes from the 2016 version that bounced around Congress last year. I discuss what some of these changes may mean in the light of Commercial Crew delays, NASA RFIs regarding SLS and Orion, and continued Russian reliability issues. by Main Engine Cut Off

28 min listen

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T+45: 2018 Air Force Launch Vehicle Contracts, and the Dim Future of Antares

T+45: 2018 Air Force Launch Vehicle Contracts, and the Dim Future of Antares

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