Main Engine Cut Off

Some interesting tidbits emerged from interviews with Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk at Code Conference. And a hard look at the economics of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan. Jeff Bezos | Full interview | Code Conference 2016 Elon Musk | Full interview | Code Conference 2016 Vulcan Centaur and Vulcan ACES - United Launch Alliance ULA needs commercial customers to close Vulcan rocket business case – Spaceflight Now Orbital ATK beats out Aerojet in ULA booster selection – Spaceflight Now Re-engined Antares rocket completes ground test firing – Spaceflight Now Williams enters BEAM for expandable module milestone | NASASpaceFlight.com Email feedback to anthony@mainenginecutoff.com Follow @WeHaveMECO Support Main Engine Cut Off on Patreon

Orbital ATK shared some more details about their next-generation launch vehicle, SpaceX is working out their certification process for reflown stages, and how these events affect the industry and other competitors in the near future. Details of Orbital ATK’s proposed heavy launcher revealed – Spaceflight Now SpaceX to brief underwriters on the road to Falcon 9 reusability - SpaceNews.com First Stage: The Air Force looks at reusability | SpaceNews Magazine SpaceX on Twitter: “Yesterday, our next rocket moved into the launch site at Cape Canaveral, FL” Email feedback to anthony@mainenginecutoff.com Follow @WeHaveMECO Support Main Engine Cut Off on Patreon

Orbital ATK and Lockheed Martin unveiled proposals for space stations around the Moon by 2020, and Mars by 2028. ExoMars 2016 completed a functionality analysis test ahead of its October arrival at Mars. China revealed plans for its third space station, and is set to launch a new rocket, with a new spacecraft, from a new launch site in June. Orbital ATK Advocates Cislunar Outpost as America's Next Step in Human Space Exploration | Orbital ATK News Room Mars Base Camp · Lockheed Martin Orbital ATK unveils cislunar habitat plan, potential missions for SLS and Orion | NASASpaceFlight.com Lockheed Martin outlines plan to send humans to Mars orbit by 2028 - SpaceFlight Insider Thales Alenia Space-built ExoMars spacecraft completes functionality analysis. All is nominal on board | Thales Group China reveals design for planned Tiangong 3 space station - SpaceFlight Insider China to debut new rocket and spaceport next month – Spaceflight Now Email feedback to anthony@mainenginecutoff.com Follow @WeHaveMECO Support M

Boeing announced a 6 month delay in the schedule for their CST-100 crew vehicle. SpaceX’s Dragon 2 is in the lead to be the first Commercial Crew vehicle to fly. The most recently-returned Falcon 9 took a ton of damage on its way back to the drone ship and won’t fly again, but will provide a ton of data for SpaceX to use to make improvements to future Falcon 9 stages. Boeing delays first crewed CST-100 flight to 2018 - SpaceNews.com Starliner’s first complete hull mated at Kennedy; crew launch delayed to 2018 | NASASpaceFlight.com Elon Musk on Twitter: “Most recent rocket took max damage, due to v high entry velocity. Will be our life leader for ground tests to confirm others are good.” Elon Musk on Twitter: “@bittdk Better. Not there yet, but a solution is likely.” Landed SpaceX rocket suffered ‘max’ damage - Florida Today Email feedback to anthony@mainenginecutoff.com Follow @WeHaveMECO Support Main Engine Cut Off on Patreon

SpaceX landed another Falcon 9 first stage on their drone ship—this time on a GTO launch, which is a major milestone on their way to full reusability and Falcon Heavy flights. Orbital ATK’s Antares launch vehicle is set for an early July return to flight, and they’re in the planning stages of a new heavy-launch vehicle. Falcon 9 launches with JCSAT-14 – lands another stage | NASASpaceFlight.com SpaceX undecided on payload for first Falcon Heavy flight – Spaceflight Now Antares Fact Sheet Key return to flight milestone looms for Antares rocket – Spaceflight Now Orbital ATK eye VAB and MLP for potential EELV-class rocket | NASASpaceFlight.com Jeff Foust on Twitter: “Dave Thompson: Orbital ATK starting work on a “modular” large launch vehicle; Air Force contract earlier this year covers initial work.” Jeff Foust on Twitter: “Thompson: decision in the first half of next year on whether to proceed; overall program would take about four years.” Email feedback to anthony@mainenginecutoff.com Follow @WeHaveMECO Supp

SpaceX officially announced their first Red Dragon mission to Mars, which will pave the way for future missions. They also posted new performance metrics for Falcon 9 and Heavy, which position the launch vehicles very differently in the market. And a brief discussion of the potential political fallout over the OA-6 launch anomaly. By the Numbers: How close Atlas V came to Failure in this Week’s Cygnus Launch – Cygnus OA-6 | Spaceflight101 OA-6: Atlas V booster shortcomings due to MRCV anomaly | NASASpaceFlight.com Mixture ratio valve the culprit in Atlas 5 anomaly, next launch this summer – Spaceflight Now HASC doubles Air Force allotment of RD-180 engines, focuses funding on building its replacement - SpaceNews.com Capabilities & Services | SpaceX SpaceX's new price chart illustrates performance cost of reusability - SpaceNews.com SpaceX plans to debut Red Dragon with 2018 Mars mission | NASASpaceFlight.com Can SpaceX really land on Mars? Absolutely, says an engineer who would know | Ars Technica NASA T

An analysis of NASA’s human spaceflight programs, Orion and the Space Launch System. How we got here, where we’re going, and how things could shake out with an eventful November in US politics coming up. Space Launch System Orion Space Station Freedom Vision for Space Exploration Constellation Program Ares I-X KSC meeting portrays SLS as scrambling for a manifest plan NASA facilities, teams ramp up SLS flight production for 2018 maiden flight NASA moves to enforce early switch to EUS for SLS NASA examines options and flight paths for SLS EM-2 mission Europe Aiming for International 'Moon Village' Attempt no landing there? Yeah right—we’re going to Europa Elon Musk Says SpaceX ‘City on Mars’ Will Be Announced in Guadalajara, Mexico Email feedback to anthony@mainenginecutoff.com Follow @WeHaveMECO Support Main Engine Cut Off on Patreon

An analysis of the intricate dance between United Launch Alliance, SpaceX, and Blue Origin as we enter the next era of spaceflight. Launch Mega-Session at the 32nd Annual Space Symposium (Photo) ULA and SpaceX see the future of space launching very differently By the Numbers: How close Atlas V came to Failure in this Week’s Cygnus Launch Lockheed-Boeing rocket venture needs commercial orders to survive 55 years after Gagarin, ULA & Bigelow present commercial space stations United Launch Alliance’s CEO weighs Blue Origin’s chances in multibillion-dollar rocket engine race Tweet from Jeff Foust — Bruno’s take on commercial market risk mitigation Tweet from Jeff Foust — Shotwell on SpaceX’s launch frequency Tweet from Jeff Foust — Meyerson on BE-4 testing Email feedback to anthony@mainenginecutoff.com Follow @WeHaveMECO Support Main Engine Cut Off on Patreon