- alle zwei WochenErscheinungsrhythmus
- 44 mintypische Länge
- 30. Okt.letzte Folge
MECO is opinion and analysis of spaceflight, exploration, policy, and strategy, by Anthony Colangelo.
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T+342: NASA Updates Artemis III and IV Plans, and the Big Feelings on the Falcon to Starship Transition
NASA laid out its plans for Artemis III and IV, including dramatically different paths to the Moon for Blue Moon and Starship. I dig into the complexity and sustainability of both architectures, the ever-changing role of SLS, and then into
T+341: The Launch Shortage, SpaceX Going Alone (with Caleb Henry)
Caleb Henry, Director of Research at Quilty Space, joins me (in studio!) to talk about the growing launch shortage, which new rockets are best positioned to fill the gap, and how SpaceX is separating itself from the launch market as the res
T+340: Starliner’s Future and the Demand Signal
NASA and Boeing laid out Starliner’s return-to-flight plan as SpaceX prepares to leave Dragon behind. I talk through the weak demand signal for crewed flight in LEO, how NASA’s commitment to the ISS and commercial stations boxed themselves
T+339: Starbase Louisiana, the Falcon Fade, and the Next Wave of Launch Vehicles
SpaceX officially announced Starbase Louisiana, and I break down why the site fits Starship’s launch, landing, and orbital architecture so perfectly. I also look at the transition from Falcon to Starship, and the new launch vehicles on the
T+338: Zhuque-3, Long March 10B, Chang’e-7 (with Andrew Jones)
Andrew Jones returns to the show to catch up on the Chinese space industry—the landings of Zhuque-3 and Long March 10B first stages, Chang’e-7 and its delay, and more. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 32 executive pr
T+337: Inversion Space (with Justin Fiaschetti, Co-Founder and CEO)
Justin Fiaschetti, Co-Founder and CEO of Inversion Space, joins me to talk about the company’s plan to store maneuverable reentry vehicles in orbit for rapid cargo delivery, the design and architecture decisions driving Arc including cross-
T+336: Rocket Lab Buys Iridium, New Glenn’s Pad Rebuild, and NASA Awards 4 CLPS Missions
Rocket Lab is buying Iridium for $8 billion, Blue Origin has a new plan to get New Glenn flying again without rebuilding the same pad architecture, and NASA just awarded four new CLPS missions. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought
T+335: Auriga Space (with Winnie Lai, Founder and CEO)
Founder and CEO of Auriga Space, Winnie Lai, joins me to talk about their electromagnetic launch infrastructure and the path she sees for Auriga across space and defense markets. And yes, we talk about whether this kind of alternative launc
T+334: SpaceX the Outlier, and Organization Leadership (with Matt Gjertsen)
I often talk about SpaceX being an extreme outlier in the industry and how many organizations have tried to replicate their approach, but very few (if any) have been successful. Matt Gjertsen of Built joins me to share a take on what exactl
T+333: New Glenn Explodes on LC-36, Starship Flight 12, and NASA Moon Base Updates
Blue Origin’s New Glenn blew up on LC-36 last night during a static fire test, Starship flew its 12th flight, and NASA had a series of updates on its Moon Base program, including LTV awards, launch and landing contracts, and a somewhat unex
T+332: Quantum Space (with Jim Bridenstine, CEO)
Former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine has joined Quantum Space as CEO. We talk about what the company is working on, the Ranger spacecraft, how they fit into the industry, where he sees their market going, and what it’s like to be a for
T+331: Checking in on K2 (with Neel Kunjur, Co-Founder and CTO)
Neel Kunjur, Co-Founder and CTO of K2 Space, joins me to talk about their hardware in space today, how their vision and plans have evolved over the past few years, and how industry changes like the push for orbital data centers have impacte
T+330: 10 Years of MECO
The show turned 10 last Monday, so I thought it would be fun to have our good friend Jake Robins on to look back at where we were then, what’s happened since, and what that teaches us about the future. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is
T+329: Katalyst Space and the Mission to Boost Swift (with Ghonhee Lee, Founder and CEO)
Ghonhee Lee, CEO of Katalyst Space, joins me to talk about their upcoming mission to boost NASA’s Swift observatory, and how they are approaching in-orbit services differently than those that came before. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off
T+328: Pam Melroy, Former NASA Deputy Administrator and Space Shuttle Commander
Pam Melroy, Former NASA Deputy Administrator, Space Shuttle Commander, and three-time Shuttle astronaut, joins me to talk about space policy past, present, and future. We talk about the most critical decisions and moments during her time as
T+327: Artemis II, the Lunar Flyby Edition (with Paul Fjeld)
Artemis II completed their lunar flyby yesterday, and it was epic on all levels. Paul Fjeld and I discuss that and many other topics related to Artemis, Apollo, and human spaceflight. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by
T+326: Artemis II Underway
Artemis II is underway with a spectacular first day. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 32 executive producers—Donald, Matt, David, Joel, Frank, Better Every Day Studios, Natasha Tsakos, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronau
T+325: Ignition
There was a lot of news in NASA’s Ignition event last week, and I break down what actually matters: not whether Jared Isaacman’s timelines are realistic, but how this new roadmap strips away architectural dependencies and forces the real bo
T+324: Impulse Space (with Tom Mueller, Founder and CEO)
Tom Mueller, Founder and CEO of Impulse Space, joins me to catch up on the company’s progress and plans—3 Mira missions flown, Helios soon to fly, $525M raised, new defense contracts, a lunar lander concept, and a new Colorado facility. Thi
T+323: The Artemis Roadmap Shakeup
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced a sweeping roadmap change to the Artemis program this morning—seemingly cancelling the EUS, Gateway, and all SLS upgrades, and instead pursuing the once-and-future annual launch cadence of SLS. Th
T+322: SpaceX Acquires xAI as it Prepares for IPO, Blue Origin Cancels New Shepard, and Artemis II Delayed (with Loren Grush)
Loren Grush, of Bloomberg, joins me to talk about SpaceX’s acquisition of xAI, its preparation for a potential IPO, Blue Origin’s cancellation of New Shepard and their recent momentum, and the delay to Artemis II following its first wet dre
T+321: Artemis II, New Glenn’s First Reflight, Blue Origin’s TeraWave, and Tory Bruno’s Job Switch
Artemis II is on the pad, and I can’t stop thinking about it. So I guess listen to me think in the open? Also, a ton of Blue Origin news—the next flight of New Glenn will feature a flown booster, they’ve announced constellation plans under
T+320: NASA’s FY2026 Budget, the Isaacman Era, and the Eve of Artemis II (with Casey Dreier)
Casey Dreier of The Planetary Society joins me to talk about the NASA FY2026 budget, the early days of the Administrator Isaacman era, and how we feel going into Artemis II. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 33 execut
T+319: Headlines, December 22, 2025
A holiday special! Enjoy this week’s episode of Headlines free. It’s an absolute monster episode—way longer than usual Headlines episodes, I promise—but it’s a great example of what you get when you support the show over at http://mainengin
T+318: General Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations, United States Space Force
Yesterday, I had the chance to visit the Pentagon and sit down with General Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations—the head of the United States Space Force. We talk about the service 6 years into its existence, the state of acquisition
T+317: Isaacman Renomination Hearing, Starliner Flights Cut, Starship at SLC-37, Zhuque-3 Almost Sticks the Landing, and More (with Stephen Clark)
Stephen Clark of Ars Technica joins me to talk about a ton of stories in the news—Jared Isaacman was back in front of Congress, a few Starliner flights have been cut from the ISS manifest, Starship received environmental approval to proceed
T+316: New Glenn’s Second Launch, First Landing, and Upgrade Roadmap
Blue Origin is fresh off an incredible few weeks—a successful second launch and first landing of New Glenn, followed by an exciting unveil of upgrades to the vehicle, including an enormous new version, New Glenn 9x4. This episode of Main En
T+315: Autonomy in Space (with Simone D’Amico, DJ Bush, and Al Tadros)
Simone D’Amico of Stanford and EraDrive, DJ Bush of NVIDIA, and Al Tadros of Redwire join me to talk about autonomy in space, to get into the specific details of what they’re working on and how it comes together, and what it may do for the
T+314: Jockeying for the Artemis 3 Lander, and the NASA Administrator Position
Thinking through the chaos that has ensued over the NASA Administrator role, the Artemis 3 lander acceleration movement, the SpaceX Starship HLS update, and a bit on how we actually got here. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought t
T+313: Starlink, Kuiper, Project Bromo, and More (with Caleb Henry)
Caleb Henry, Director of Research at Quilty Space, joins me (in studio!) to talk about Starlink V3, Starlink satellite relay, Kuiper’s rollout, the Airbus-Thales-Leonardo merger, and the future of Iridium. This episode of Main Engine Cut Of
