Main Engine Cut Off

Opinion and analysis of spaceflight, exploration, policy, and strategy, by Anthony Colangelo.

Find the show wherever you get your podcasts.

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.

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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 mainenginecutoff.com/support.

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T+318: General Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations, United States Space Force

T318

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 acquisitions, the threats and space environment today, and what the future may hold for the Space Force when it comes to human spaceflight.

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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 at SLC-37, Zhuque-3 almost stuck its first landing attempt, the Soyuz launch pad fell apart at Baikonur, and the Space Force has a new mission naming scheme.

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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.

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