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 p...
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Main Engine Cut Off
A short, weekly podcast about spaceflight, exploration, policy, and strategy in the modern era and near future.
Episodes
20 of 340 episodes
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...
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 i...
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 archit...
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 Au...
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 ve...
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 updat...
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 spacecra...
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 o...
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...
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 approa...
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...
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...
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,...
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 a...
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 t...
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, Gate...
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 cancellati...
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...
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 h...