T+56: Small Launchers and Advanced Propulsion

Rocket Lab completed their investigation into what went wrong on their first launch, Virgin Orbit’s carrier 747 arrived in Long Beach, and I discuss a few NASA-backed advanced propulsion projects. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 17 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, and four anonymous—and 66 other supporters on Patreon. Main Engine Cut Off | Listen OnDemand Free | TuneIn Rocket Lab Completes Post-Flight Analysis | Rocket Lab Rocket Lab Addresses Vehicle Roll on Twitter Telemetry glitch kept first Electron rocket from reaching orbit - SpaceNews.com Rocket Lab clear on why first launch failed and confident to go again - NZ Herald Virgin Orbit plans 2018 first launch - SpaceNews.com Virgin Orbit Tweet Shows Launch Vehicle Hardware Virgin Orbit - NewtonThree Hotfire (5 June 2017) - YouTube Virgin Orbit - NewtonFour Hotfire (29 June 2017) - YouTube LauncherOne Service Guide (PDF, 2.5MB) Vector raises $21 million for small launch vehicle development - SpaceNews.com Ad Astra Rocket Company NextSTEP Year 2 Press Release (PDF, 82KB) NASA’s plasma rocket making progress toward a 100-hour firing | Ars Technica New NASA Contract Will Advance Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Technology | NASA NASA Contracts with BWXT for Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Project - Main Engine Cut Off Email your thoughts and comments to [email protected] Follow @WeHaveMECO Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn or elsewhere Subscribe to the Main Engine Cut Off Newsletter Buy shirts and Rocket Socks from the Main Engine Cut Off Shop Support Main Engine Cut Off on Patreon