Main Engine Cut Off

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