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 to you by 32 executive producers—Warren, Matt from Built, Theo and Violet, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Natasha Tsakos, Lee, Donald, David, Matt, Joonas, Russell, Steve, Frank, Will and Lars from Agile, The Astrogators at SEE, Josh from Impulse, Fred, Joel, Kris, Pat, Joakim, Miles O’Brien, Stealth Julian, Jan, Ryan, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.

Topics

• Rocket Lab to acquire Iridium - SpaceNews
• Rocket Lab to Acquire Iridium in Historic Deal, Creating A
• New Glenn Return to Flight - Blue Origin
• NASA Awards More Moon Base Science, Previews New Opportunities
• NextSTEP-3 B: Moon Base Demonstrations - NASA
• Episode 154 - They Ran Into Us (with Matt Desch, CEO of Iridium) - Off-Nominal

The Show

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• Artwork photo by SpaceX
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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 launch architecture is a good fit for Earth, or a better fit for pretty much every other rock in the solar system.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 32 executive producers—Steve, Ryan, Matt from Built, Russell, Joel, David, Kris, Joakim, Fred, Pat, Matt, Theo and Violet, Natasha Tsakos, Donald, Warren, Miles O’Brien, Will and Lars from Agile, Frank, Jan, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Josh from Impulse, Stealth Julian, Lee, Joonas, The Astrogators at SEE, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.

Topics

• Auriga - Electromagnetic Launch for Space and Defense
• Auriga Space raises $6M to shoot rockets off an electromagnetic launch track | TechCrunch

The Show

• Like the show? Support the show on Patreon or Substack!
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• Artwork photo by SpaceX
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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 exactly it is internally that drives their results, how to apply it in other organizations, and to share some perspective on his time at SpaceX leading Training and Development, and from elsewhere in the industry.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 32 executive producers—Steve, Ryan, Matt from Built, Russell, Joel, David, Kris, Joakim, Fred, Pat, Matt, Theo and Violet, Natasha Tsakos, Donald, Warren, Miles O’Brien, Will and Lars from Agile, Frank, Jan, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Josh from Impulse, Stealth Julian, Lee, Joonas, The Astrogators at SEE, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.

Topics

• Built Leaders
• Minimum Viable Manager – Built Leaders
• Why Steve Jobs drowned the first iPod prototype | Cult of Mac

The Show

• Like the show? Support the show on Patreon or Substack!
• Email your thoughts, comments, and questions to anthony@mainenginecutoff.com
• Follow @WeHaveMECO
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• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn or elsewhere
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• Artwork photo by SpaceX
• Work with me and my design and development agency: Pine Works

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 unexplained branding exercise.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 32 executive producers—Lee, Steve, Josh from Impulse, Kris, David, Miles O’Brien, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Jan, Donald, Frank, Better Every Day Studios, Stealth Julian, The Astrogators at SEE, Ryan, Matt, Warren, Will and Lars from Agile, Pat, Fred, Joonas, Theo and Violet, Russell, Joel, Natasha Tsakos, Joakim, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.

Topics

• Here's why the failure of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket is so catastrophic - Ars Technica
• NASA takes steps toward building Moon Base, including discussing a "perimeter" - Ars Technica
• NASA selects four companies for initial moon base awards - SpaceNews

The Show

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• Artwork photo by NASA/Bill Ingalls
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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 former NASA Administrator running a company in the industry.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 32 executive producers—Fred, Frank, Better Every Day Studios, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), David, Steve, Kris, Stealth Julian, Will and Lars from Agile, The Astrogators at SEE, Pat, Warren, Josh from Impulse, Miles O’Brien, Russell, Matt, Natasha Tsakos, Joakim, Lee, Theo and Violet, Joonas, Joel, Jan, Donald, Ryan, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.

Topics

• Quantum Space hires Bridenstine as CEO - SpaceNews
• Quantum Space to build spacecraft in Tulsa - SpaceNews
• Quantum Space acquires Phase Four propulsion assets - SpaceNews
• Quantum Space raises $40 million - SpaceNews

The Show

• Like the show? Support the show on Patreon or Substack!
• Email your thoughts, comments, and questions to anthony@mainenginecutoff.com
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• Artwork photo by NASA/Bill Ingalls
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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 impacted their future.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 32 executive producers—Lee, Steve, Josh from Impulse, Kris, David, Miles O’Brien, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Jan, Donald, Frank, Better Every Day Studios, Stealth Julian, The Astrogators at SEE, Ryan, Matt, Warren, Will and Lars from Agile, Pat, Fred, Joonas, Theo and Violet, Russell, Joel, Natasha Tsakos, Joakim, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.

Topics

• High-Power Satellite Platforms | K2 Space | Build Bigger
• T+270: K2 Space (with Neel Kunjur, Co-Founder and CTO) - Main Engine Cut Off
• Investors commit quarter-billion dollars to startup designing “Giga” satellites - Ars Technica
• Episode 241 - Maybe the Denver Airport (with Andrew Rush) - Off-Nominal
• Anduril teams with commercial space firms, Sandia lab on Golden Dome interceptor program - SpaceNews
• Space Force taps K2 satellites to test laser communications for missile-defense - SpaceNews

The Show

• Like the show? Support the show on Patreon or Substack!
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• Artwork photo by NASA/Bill Ingalls
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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 brought to you by 32 executive producers—Donald, Ryan, Joakim, Better Every Day Studios, Stealth Julian, David, Theo and Violet, Lee, Miles O’Brien, Will and Lars from Agile, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), The Astrogators at SEE, Frank, Steve, Russell, Matt, Joel, Kris, Natasha Tsakos, Pat, Jan, Warren, Fred, Joonas, Josh from Impulse, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.

Topics

• T-0: The Near Future of US-Based Competitors - Main Engine Cut Off
• T+1: The Near Future of NASA’s Orion and SLS Programs - Main Engine Cut Off
• 1 – The Waxing Interest in Mars
• T+23: SpaceX Mars Architecture Initial Reactions - Main Engine Cut Off
• 13 – Making Humans Multiplanetary (feat. Anthony Colangelo)
• 65 – Starship on Course (feat. Anthony Colangelo)
• T+135: Jake Robins on Starship - Main Engine Cut Off
• wemartians comments on Main Engine Cut Off — A new, short, weekly podcast about spaceflight and exploration

The Show

• Like the show? Support the show on Patreon or Substack!
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• Artwork photo by NASA/Bill Ingalls
• Work with me and my design and development agency: Pine Works

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 is brought to you by 32 executive producers—Donald, Ryan, Joakim, Better Every Day Studios, Stealth Julian, David, Theo and Violet, Lee, Miles O’Brien, Will and Lars from Agile, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), The Astrogators at SEE, Frank, Steve, Russell, Matt, Joel, Kris, Natasha Tsakos, Pat, Jan, Warren, Fred, Joonas, Josh from Impulse, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.

Topics

• Upgrade Satellites Post-Launch | Katalyst Space Technologies​
• A unique NASA satellite is falling out of orbit—this team is trying to rescue it - Ars Technica
• Swift spacecraft reorientation buys time for reboost mission - SpaceNews
• Katalyst Space acquires Atomos to accelerate in-space services - SpaceNews
• Arianespace to launch Katalyst servicing spacecraft - SpaceNews
• LinkedIn post with the mission patch

The Show

• Like the show? Support the show on Patreon or Substack!
• Email your thoughts, comments, and questions to anthony@mainenginecutoff.com
• Follow @WeHaveMECO
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• Listen to Off-Nominal
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• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn or elsewhere
• Subscribe to the Main Engine Cut Off Newsletter
• Artwork photo by NASA/Bill Ingalls
• Work with me and my design and development agency: Pine Works