Main Engine Cut Off

Mike Lewis, CTO of NanoRacks joins me to talk about what they’re working on today, as well as their big plans for the future, including their upcoming airlock and the Ixion project—their ongoing work to turn spent upper stages into useful spacecraft. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 23 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, and five anonymous—and 108 other supporters on Patreon. NanoRacks | The Operating System of Space NanoRacks (@NanoRacks) | Twitter Mike Lewis | NanoRacks' Chief Technology Officer NanoRacks’ 4th External Cargo Ship Satellite Deployment Mission NanoRacks Successfully Deploys First Customer Microsatellite from ISS NanoRacks Airlock Passes Johnson Astronaut Training Exercise Contract for Commercial Habitat Concept Study Signed NanoRacks on Twitter: “We see the future commercialization of #LEO in re-using and re-purposing spent upper stages of launch vehicles. Here's a new look at #Ixion.” Email your thoughts and comments to anthony@mainenginecutoff.com Follow @WeHaveMECO Listen to MECO Headlines Join the Off-Nominal Discord Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn or elsewhere Subscribe to the Main Engine Cut Off Newsletter Buy shirts and Rocket Socks from the Main Engine Cut Off Shop Support Main Engine Cut Off on Patreon

A special preview of the MECO Headlines shows: Elon Musk kinda-sorta-maybe announces the Falcon Heavy demo payload, Russia and China carry out successful military launches, NASA announces some very interesting NextSTEP-2 contracts, OA-8E Cygnus departs ISS, and SpaceX’s SLC-40 is back, baby! This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 23 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, and five anonymous—and 107 other supporters on Patreon. Elon Musk on Twitter: “Falcon Heavy to launch next month from Apollo 11 pad at the Cape. Will have double thrust of next largest rocket.” Elon Musk on Twitter: “Payload will be my midnight cherry Tesla Roadster playing Space Oddity. Destination is Mars orbit. Will be in deep space for a billion years…” Intelligence-gathering satellite deployed in orbit for Russian military - Spaceflight Now Russia launches Lotos mission via Soyuz 2-1B rocket | NASASpaceFlight.com Long March 2D space launch of mystery satellite continues China’s busy end to year Long March 2D lofts latest Yaogan Weixing satellite named LKW-1 | NASASpaceFlight.com NASASpaceFlight.com United Launch Alliance Selects L3 Technologies to Design Next-Generation Avionics Systems - United Launch Alliance Tory Bruno on Twitter: “@WeHaveMECO CDR in December. Tooling is the factory. First hardware in fab. pad mods underway” Tory Bruno on Twitter: “@WeHaveMECO Underway and going well” GOES-S weather satellite arrives in Florida for launch preparations - Spaceflight Now NASA seeks proposals for space resources technologies - SpaceNews.com NextSTEP-2 BAA Appendix D: In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) Technology - Federal Business Opportunities: Opportunities Newsroom - PARC, a Xerox company Cygnus cargo craft released from space station, setting up for CubeSat deployments - Spaceflight Now “Flawless” OA-8E Cygnus departs ISS for 12 days of free-flight activities | NASASpaceFlight.com NanoRacks Launches Full External Cygnus Deployer on OA-8 Delta 4 launch from California slips to January - Spaceflight Now Test-firing at repaired launch pad clears way for SpaceX cargo flight next week - Spaceflight Now Rocket Launch Schedule - Rocket Launch Live NASA Selects Three Companies to Develop 'FabLab' Prototypes | NASA NASA Selects Tethers Unlimited to... - Tethers Unlimited, Inc. | Facebook Tethers Unlimited wins NASA grant to work on lab for 3-D printing in space - GeekWire Rocket Lab pushes back second Electron launch by one day - Spaceflight Now Email your thoughts and comments to anthony@mainenginecutoff.com Follow @WeHaveMECO Listen to MECO Headlines Join the MECO Discord Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn or elsewhere Subscribe to the Main Engine Cut Off Newsletter Buy shirts and Rocket Socks from the Main Engine Cut Off Shop Support Main Engine Cut Off on Patreon

I was in Houston last week and I visited NanoRacks for a bit. And Virgin Orbit piqued the interest of the Department of Defense, which has some interesting implications. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 22 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Robert, Brian, and five anonymous—and 104 other supporters on Patreon. Virgin Orbit wins first Defense Department launch contract - SpaceNews.com STRATCOM chief Hyten: ‘I will not support buying big satellites that make juicy targets’ - SpaceNews.com Revival of Cape Canaveral’s LC-46 begins with Minotaur Pathfinder Assembly - Spaceflight101 Orbital ATK’s Next-Generation Composite Case Passes Structural Acceptance Test - Main Engine Cut Off Orbital ATK Successfully Tests First Motor Case for Next Generation Launch Vehicle | Orbital ATK News Room Orbital ATK on Twitter: “Our Next Generation Launch Vehicle achieves critical milestone with completion of structural acceptance test” Email your thoughts and comments to anthony@mainenginecutoff.com Follow @WeHaveMECO Listen to MECO Headlines Join the MECO Discord Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn or elsewhere Subscribe to the Main Engine Cut Off Newsletter Buy shirts and Rocket Socks from the Main Engine Cut Off Shop Support Main Engine Cut Off on Patreon

SES gives us a preview of their new GEO strategy (which may be a harbinger of the future), Orbital ATK tests a new composite case to be used for their Next-Generation Launcher and future SLS boosters, NASA approves the use of previously-flown Falcon 9 first stages, and SpaceX sets off some LOX fireworks down in McGregor, Texas. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 23 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Robert, Brian, and five anonymous—and 96 other supporters on Patreon. SES Rethinks GEO Model - Main Engine Cut Off SES tells satellite builders to prepare for a total rethink of their business - Space Intel Report Orbital ATK’s Next-Generation Composite Case Passes Structural Acceptance Test - Main Engine Cut Off Orbital ATK Successfully Tests First Motor Case for Next Generation Launch Vehicle | Orbital ATK News Room Orbital ATK on Twitter: “Our Next Generation Launch Vehicle achieves critical milestone with completion of structural acceptance test” SpaceX Falcon 9 successfully launches Koreasat 5A | NASASpaceFlight.com NASA Approves Use of Previously-Flown Falcon 9 Boosters - Main Engine Cut Off Elon Musk’s SpaceX suffers a rocket-engine failure during testing - The Washington Post SpaceX suffers Merlin engine test mishap - SpaceNews.com Email your thoughts and comments to anthony@mainenginecutoff.com Follow @WeHaveMECO Listen to MECO Headlines Join the MECO Discord Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn or elsewhere Subscribe to the Main Engine Cut Off Newsletter Buy shirts and Rocket Socks from the Main Engine Cut Off Shop Support Main Engine Cut Off on Patreon

Blue Origin fired up their BE-4 engine for the first time, which is a big moment. And I share some meandering thoughts on the future of commercial and military launch. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 22 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Robert, and five anonymous—and 95 other supporters on Patreon. Blue Origin on Twitter: “First hotfire of our BE-4 engine is a success #GradatimFerociter” Blue Origin just sent a jolt through the aerospace industry | Ars Technica Tory Bruno on Twitter: “@WeHaveMECO CDR in December. Tooling is the factory. First hardware in fab. pad mods underway” Tory Bruno on Twitter: “@IanPineapple @WeHaveMECO Cape pad will be backwards compatible. VAFB may not need that” Email your thoughts and comments to anthony@mainenginecutoff.com Follow @WeHaveMECO Listen to MECO Headlines Join the MECO Discord Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn or elsewhere Subscribe to the Main Engine Cut Off Newsletter Buy shirts and Rocket Socks from the Main Engine Cut Off Shop Support Main Engine Cut Off on Patreon

Tory Bruno wrote an op-ed in SpaceNews regarding Vulcan and its future, and he announced that ULA will be upgrading Centaur. Elon Musk spent some time on reddit talking about BFR and updating us on some of the details. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 21 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, and five anonymous—and 92 other supporters on Patreon. Off-Nominal Off-Nominal - Main Engine Cut Off FA8811-17-9-0001; Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Launch Service Agreements (LSA) Request for Proposals (RFP) - Federal Business Opportunities: Opportunities Op-ed | Building on a successful record in space to meet the challenges ahead - SpaceNews.com Op-ed by Tory Bruno | Building on a successful record in space to meet the challenges ahead : ula /u/ToryBruno on reddit T+45: 2018 Air Force Launch Vehicle Contracts, and the Dim Future of Antares - Main Engine Cut Off House Members Ask Air Force to Fund Vehicles, Not Components - Main Engine Cut Off House Armed Services Committee Markup of 2018 NDAA - Main Engine Cut Off /u/ElonMusk on reddit I am Elon Musk, ask me anything about BFR! : space Email your thoughts and comments to anthony@mainenginecutoff.com Follow @WeHaveMECO Listen to MECO Headlines Join the MECO Discord Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn or elsewhere Subscribe to the Main Engine Cut Off Newsletter Buy shirts and Rocket Socks from the Main Engine Cut Off Shop Support Main Engine Cut Off on Patreon

Chris Gebhardt of NASASpaceflight joins me to discuss Elon Musk’s presentation last week, in which he provided an update to the BFR. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 20 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, and five anonymous—and 82 other supporters on Patreon. Chris Gebhardt on Twitter Making Life Multiplanetary The Moon, Mars, & around the Earth – Musk updates BFR architecture, plans | NASASpaceFlight.com SES-10 Press Conference in which Chris grills Elon until he says “Wow, you’re really in the details there.” Email your thoughts and comments to anthony@mainenginecutoff.com Follow @WeHaveMECO Listen to MECO Headlines Join the MECO Discord Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn or elsewhere Subscribe to the Main Engine Cut Off Newsletter Buy shirts and Rocket Socks from the Main Engine Cut Off Shop Support Main Engine Cut Off on Patreon

Northrop Grumman is acquiring Orbital ATK in a $9.2 billion deal. Lockheed Martin unveiled a new family of satellite busses, positioning themselves for the next era of satellite bus production. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 20 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, and five anonymous—and 77 other supporters on Patreon. Northrop Grumman to acquire Orbital ATK - SpaceNews.com Analysts see red flags in Northrop’s acquisition of Orbital ATK - SpaceNews.com Lockheed won’t protest now two-way race to refresh U.S. nuclear arsenal - SpaceNews.com All in the Family: Lockheed Martin Introduces New Satellite Lineup - Sep 19, 2017 Lockheed Martin unveils new satellite bus lineup - SpaceNews.com Email your thoughts and comments to anthony@mainenginecutoff.com Follow @WeHaveMECO Listen to MECO Headlines Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn or elsewhere Subscribe to the Main Engine Cut Off Newsletter Buy shirts and Rocket Socks from the Main Engine Cut Off Shop Support Main Engine Cut Off on Patreon

Blue Origin announced a size increase to New Glenn’s fairing, and OneWeb has decided to keep their Toulouse factory open for other customers after their initial 10-satellite production run is over. Both decisions bring about some interesting implications for the market at large. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 19 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, and five anonymous—and 69 other supporters on Patreon. Blue Origin | New Glenn Blue Origin on Twitter: “Given customer response, we’re going straight to the 7m fairing and skipping 5.4m. Customers liking options the 2X volume provides.” New Glenn Gets Larger Fairing - Main Engine Cut Off OneWeb Satellites to keep Toulouse factory open for other customers - SpaceNews.com OneWeb Satellites to keep Toulouse factory open for other customers - Main Engine Cut Off Email your thoughts and comments to anthony@mainenginecutoff.com Follow @WeHaveMECO Listen to MECO Headlines Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn or elsewhere Subscribe to the Main Engine Cut Off Newsletter Buy shirts and Rocket Socks from the Main Engine Cut Off Shop Support Main Engine Cut Off on Patreon

Jake Robins of the WeMartians Podcast joins me to discuss the state and future of the Mars exploration program, lean sample return, and more. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 18 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, and four anonymous—and 69 other supporters on Patreon. WeMartians Podcast - WeMartians Podcast - Follow Humanity's Journey to Mars WeMartians Podcast (@We_Martians) | Twitter WeMartians 029 - A Teenage Rover (feat. Mike Seibert) Mars Exploration Program, Thomas H. Zurbuchen, NASA SMD Associate Administrator, Presentation to National Academies (PDF, 1.9MB) NASA proposes rapid Mars sample return architecture - SpaceNews.com NASA considers kicking Mars sample return into high gear | The Planetary Society A future comes into focus for the Mars Exploration Program | The Planetary Society Space Policy Edition #16: NASA's Flagship Missions: Are They Worth It? | The Planetary Society Powering Science: NASA’s Large Strategic Science Missions | The National Academies Press Email your thoughts and comments to anthony@mainenginecutoff.com Follow @WeHaveMECO Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn or elsewhere Subscribe to the Main Engine Cut Off Newsletter Buy shirts and Rocket Socks from the Main Engine Cut Off Shop Support Main Engine Cut Off on Patreon