T+170: Catching Up on the News

I’m back after a few wonderful weeks offline with my newly-arrived son, Will! I figured I’d jump back in with a rundown of the important and notable bits of news that happened while I was gone.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 38 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Nadim, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and seven anonymous—and 402 other supporters.

Topics

• My son has arrived! Signing off for a few weeks. - Main Engine Cut Off
• Main Engine Cut Off on Twitter: “It’s Space Shirt Friday over in the @offnom Discord and I’m guessing @JimBridenstine will appreciate Will’s first participation in it.”
• Discovery of noxious gas on Venus could be a sign of life - The Verge
• What the future of Venus exploration could look like following major discovery - The Verge
• Venus is One Stop in Our Search for Life - Administrator Jim Bridenstine
• Rocket Lab Launches First In-house Designed & Built Photon Satellite | Rocket Lab
• NASA signs agreement with Italy to cooperate on Artemis - SpaceNews
• NASA Publishes Artemis Plan to Land First Woman, Next Man on Moon | NASA
• Bridenstine Optimistic About Full HLS Funding - SpacePolicyOnline.com
• Senate Hearing Offers No Hints on Prospect for Artemis Funding - SpacePolicyOnline.com
• Another Senate Hearing, But Still No Clue on Likely Fate of Artemis Funding - SpacePolicyOnline.com
• Space Resources are the Key to Safe and Sustainable Lunar Exploration - Administrator Jim Bridenstine
• Purchase of Lunar Regolith and/or Rock Materials from Contractor - beta.SAM.gov
• NASA Moon Rocket Stage Passes Simulated Countdown Test | NASA
• Jim Bridenstine on Twitter: “More progress on @NASA_SLS Green Run Hot Fire! @NASA_Stennis teams completed the sixth test of the Green Run test series – the simulated countdown – on Sunday, validating the stage for the sequence of events leading up to an Artemis launch.”
• OneWeb secures additional financing as bankruptcy restructuring continues - SpaceNews
• Bankruptcy court approves OneWeb sale - SpaceNews
• SpaceX wins launch contract for NASA space science mission - SpaceNews
• After second hop, SpaceX preps for next phase of Starship testing - Spaceflight Now
• Starship SN8 prepares for test series - First sighting of Super Heavy - NASASpaceFlight.com
• Super Heavy waiting in the wings amid Starship testing - NASASpaceFlight.com
• SpaceX on Twitter: “Completed a full duration test fire of the Raptor Vacuum engine at SpaceX’s rocket development facility in McGregor, Texas”
• SpaceX launches the first south-bound rocket from Florida in decades - The Verge
• Episode T+167: Phillip Hargrove, NASA Launch Services Program - Main Engine Cut Off
• SpaceX to Fly to Polar Orbit from Florida - Main Engine Cut Off
• Software fix could position Astra for another launch attempt by end of year - Spaceflight Now
• Video of Astra Flight 3 from Jennifer Culton
• Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit is Seeking Investors - Parabolic Arc
• ExoTerra to develop upper stage for Virgin Orbit LauncherOne - SpaceNews

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