T+340: Starliner’s Future and the Demand Signal

NASA and Boeing laid out Starliner’s return-to-flight plan as SpaceX prepares to leave Dragon behind. I talk through the weak demand signal for crewed flight in LEO, how NASA’s commitment to the ISS and commercial stations boxed themselves into this decision, and what to do between here and the Moon.This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 33 executive producers—Theo and Violet, Miles O’Brien, Joakim, Steve, Warren, Joel, Frank, Joonas, Natasha Tsakos, Will and Lars from Agile, David, Matt, Jan, Matt from Built, Lee, Josh from Impulse, Russell, Heiko, Kris, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Ryan, The Astrogators at SEE, Donald, Fred, Pat, Stealth Julian, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.TopicsBoeing "incredibly excited" to serve as nation's only astronaut transportation - Ars TechnicaAfter being sidelined, Boeing's Starliner to get starring role in NASA's spaceflight plans - Ars TechnicaCongress extends ISS and tells NASA to get moving on private space stations - Ars TechnicaNASA chief concerned China may deny access to parts of Moon's south pole - Ars TechnicaSpaceX's Starship goes orbital, deploying first next-gen Starlinks - Ars TechnicaVast Establishes Lunar Programs Division, Applying Haven Flight Heritage to Power, Communications, and Habitats on the Moon — an update by VASTThe ShowLike the show? Support the show on Patreon or Substack!Email your thoughts, comments, and questions to anthony@mainenginecutoff.comFollow @WeHaveMECOFollow @meco@spacey.space on MastodonListen to MECO HeadlinesListen to Off-NominalJoin the Off-Nominal DiscordSubscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn or elsewhereSubscribe to the Main Engine Cut Off NewsletterArtwork photo by Zho