Main Engine Cut Off
by Anthony Colangelo
Latest episode
T+342: NASA Updates Artemis III and IV Plans, and the Big Feelings…
T+342: NASA Updates Artemis III and IV Plans, and the Big Feelings…
About this podcast
MECO is opinion and analysis of spaceflight, exploration, policy, and strategy, by Anthony Colangelo.
Episodes
The newest 50 of 343 episodes
- T+342: NASA Updates Artemis III and IV Plans, and the Big Feelings on the Falcon to Starship Transition · 45 min · Episode 342NASA 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…
- T+341: The Launch Shortage, SpaceX Going Alone (with Caleb Henry) · 57 min · Episode 341Caleb 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…
- T+340: Starliner’s Future and the Demand Signal · 33 min · Episode 340NASA 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…
- T+339: Starbase Louisiana, the Falcon Fade, and the Next Wave of Launch Vehicles · 36 min · Episode 339SpaceX 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…
- T+338: Zhuque-3, Long March 10B, Chang’e-7 (with Andrew Jones) · 48 min · Episode 338Andrew 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.
- T+337: Inversion Space (with Justin Fiaschetti, Co-Founder and CEO) · 48 min · Episode 337Justin 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…
- T+336: Rocket Lab Buys Iridium, New Glenn’s Pad Rebuild, and NASA Awards 4 CLPS Missions · 25 min · Episode 336Rocket 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…
- T+335: Auriga Space (with Winnie Lai, Founder and CEO) · 41 min · Episode 335Founder 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…
- T+334: SpaceX the Outlier, and Organization Leadership (with Matt Gjertsen) · 44 min · Episode 334I 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…
- T+333: New Glenn Explodes on LC-36, Starship Flight 12, and NASA Moon Base Updates · 31 min · Episode 333Blue 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…
- T+332: Quantum Space (with Jim Bridenstine, CEO) · 37 min · Episode 332Former 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…
- T+331: Checking in on K2 (with Neel Kunjur, Co-Founder and CTO) · 44 min · Episode 331Neel 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…
- T+330: 10 Years of MECO · 32 min · Episode 330The 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…
- T+329: Katalyst Space and the Mission to Boost Swift (with Ghonhee Lee, Founder and CEO) · 45 min · Episode 329Ghonhee 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…
- T+328: Pam Melroy, Former NASA Deputy Administrator and Space Shuttle Commander · 52 min · Episode 328Pam 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…
- T+327: Artemis II, the Lunar Flyby Edition (with Paul Fjeld) · 1 h 22 min · Episode 327Artemis 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…
- T+326: Artemis II Underway · 14 min · Episode 326Artemis II is underway with a spectacular first day.
- T+325: Ignition · 35 min · Episode 325There 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…
- T+324: Impulse Space (with Tom Mueller, Founder and CEO) · 40 min · Episode 324Tom 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…
- T+323: The Artemis Roadmap Shakeup · 30 min · Episode 323NASA 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…
- T+322: SpaceX Acquires xAI as it Prepares for IPO, Blue Origin Cancels New Shepard, and Artemis II Delayed (with Loren Grush) · 41 min · Episode 322Loren 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…
- T+321: Artemis II, New Glenn’s First Reflight, Blue Origin’s TeraWave, and Tory Bruno’s Job Switch · 31 min · Episode 321Artemis 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…
- T+320: NASA’s FY2026 Budget, the Isaacman Era, and the Eve of Artemis II (with Casey Dreier) · 32 min · Episode 320Casey 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.
- T+319: Headlines, December 22, 2025 · 49 min · Episode 319A 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…
- T+318: General Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations, United States Space Force · 49 min · Episode 318Yesterday, 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…
- T+317: Isaacman Renomination Hearing, Starliner Flights Cut, Starship at SLC-37, Zhuque-3 Almost Sticks the Landing, and More (with Stephen Clark) · 60 min · Episode 317Stephen 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…
- T+316: New Glenn’s Second Launch, First Landing, and Upgrade Roadmap · 30 min · Episode 316Blue 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…
- T+315: Autonomy in Space (with Simone D’Amico, DJ Bush, and Al Tadros) · 1 h 3 min · Episode 315Simone 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…
- T+314: Jockeying for the Artemis 3 Lander, and the NASA Administrator Position · 35 min · Episode 314Thinking 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…
- T+313: Starlink, Kuiper, Project Bromo, and More (with Caleb Henry) · 33 min · Episode 313Caleb 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…
- T+312: Starship Flight 11, Space Policy, and Priorities (with Miles O’Brien) · 44 min · Episode 312Miles O’Brien, science correspondent for PBS News and CNN space analyst, joins me to talk about Starship Flight 11, the current space policy landscape including the ongoing…
- T+311: Phil McAlister on Commercial LEO and NASA’s Human Spaceflight Budget · 43 min · Episode 311Phil McAlister, former Director of NASA’s Commercial Space Division, joins me to talk about the Commercial LEO Destinations program, the budgetary issues facing NASA and its…
- T+310: NASA’s “Prove It” Era · 20 min · Episode 310NASA selected Blue Origin to (maybe) deliver the once-cancelled VIPER rover, modified Sierra Space’s ISS resupply contract which likely puts the nail in the coffin of Dream…
- T+309: EchoStar’s Spectrum Sale, Starlink’s Financials (with Caleb Henry, Director of Research at Quilty Space) · 43 min · Episode 309Caleb Henry, Director of Research at Quilty Space, joins me to talk about EchoStar’s spectrum sales and constellation cancellation, SpaceX’s spectrum purchase, and the financials…
- T+308: Chatting with Casey Handmer · 36 min · Episode 308Casey Handmer, Founder of Terraform Industries, joins me to talk about the state of NASA in 2025, talent acquisition and retention, productivity, and so much more.
- T+307: Executive Order on Regulatory Reform (with Tom Marotta) · 31 min · Episode 307Tom Marotta of The Spaceport Company joins me to talk about the executive order this week focused on commercial space regulatory reform, what problems it seeks to solve, his…
- T+306: Lunar Outpost (with Michael Moreno, VP of Strategy) · 42 min · Episode 306Michael Moreno, VP of Strategy at Lunar Outpost, joins me to talk about what they’ve been up to at the company, the NASA Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services contract, the idea of…
- T+305: The Starship 36 Explosion, and ESA Policy (with Adrian Beil, NASASpaceflight) · 1 h 6 min · Episode 305A special simulcast of this week’s Off-Nominal—the other show I do, if you somehow haven’t heard of it!—because it’s exactly the topic list with exactly the guest I had up next…
- T+304: The Musk/Trump Breakup, Jared Isaacman’s Withdrawn Nomination, and Starship Flight 9 (with Lori Garver) · 50 min · Episode 304Lori Garver, former NASA Deputy Administrator, joins me to talk about the chaos of the last week: the withdraw of Jared Isaacman’s nomination for NASA Administrator, Starship…
- T+303: The Trump 2024 Transition (with Mark Albrecht) · 54 min · Episode 303Mark Albrecht joins me to talk about his time on the Trump 2024 Transition Team, the thinking behind some of the policy decisions we’re starting to see in the space and national…
- T+302: A Tour of Marotta Controls · 1 h 35 min · Episode 302We take a tour of Marotta Controls in Montville, New Jersey, to see how they work, how they develop, produce, and test products at rate, and we learn about the most feared topic…
- T+301: Hypersonics and Constellations (with Caleb Henry) · 42 min · Episode 301Caleb Henry, Director of Research at Quilty Space, joins me to talk megaconstellations, the hypersonics industry, and more.
- T+300: Isaacman’s Confirmation Hearing, NASA and NOAA Budgets, NSSL Phase 3 Lane 2 Awards · 27 min · Episode 300Jared Isaacman was in Congress for a confirmation hearing for his nomination as NASA Administrator, which was followed up by reports of huge proposed budget cuts at NASA and…
- T+299: Starliner, According to Butch and Suni (with Eric Berger) · 29 min · Episode 299Eric Berger of Ars Technica joins me to talk about his recent interviews with Butch and Suni in the aftermath of their flight, the update NASA put out about Starliner, and how it…
- T+298: Eric Schmidt Takes Over at Relativity, Rocket Lab Plans Mynaric Acquisition · 20 min · Episode 298Eric Schmidt has taken a majority stake in Relativity and will serve as its CEO, so this is a good time to check in on their plans. Rocket Lab is planning to acquire Mynaric, and…
- T+297: Firefly Blue Ghost 1, Intuitive Machines IM-2, SpaceX Starship Flight 8 (with Josh Dinner) · 52 min · Episode 297Josh Dinner of Space.com joins me to talk about a wild week in space—Firefly’s Blue Ghost 1, Intuitive Machines’ IM-2, SpaceX’s Starship Flight 8, Rocket Lab announcements, and…
- T+296: Jim Bridenstine on Space Policy · 26 min · Episode 296Former Congressman and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine joins me to talk space policy, then and now: CLPS, Commercial Space Stations, Artemis, international partnerships, and…
- T+295: The Economics of Space (with Matthew Weinzierl and Brendan Rosseau) · 41 min · Episode 295Matthew Weinzierl and Brendan Rosseau join me to talk about their new book, Space to Grow: Unlocking the Final Economic Frontier. We talk about the economics driving the space…
- T+294: Elon Musk and the Trump Administration, Potential SLS Cancellation (with Eric Berger) · 42 min · Episode 294Eric Berger of Ars Technica joins me to talk about Elon Musk and the whirlwind start of the second Trump administration, and what the future may hold for SLS.
- T+293: Jonathan’s Space Report Library Transition (with Jonathan McDowell) · 14 min · Episode 293Jonathan McDowell—astrophysicist at Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and the namesake of the McDowell Line at 80 kilometers—joins me to talk about his fundraiser to…
