Main Engine Cut Off

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

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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 Deputy Administrator under Administrator Bill Nelson, and her thoughts on the Isaacman-era space policy from Ignition to Commercial LEO, and what to do about Mars Sample Return.

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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.

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T+326: Artemis II Underway

Artemis II is underway with a spectacular first day.

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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 bottlenecks into the open. I talk through Gateway’s cancellation, the possible path away from SLS and ICPS, what this means for lunar landers and international partners, and why NASA’s new philosophy feels so different from the past.

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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.

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