Main Engine Cut Off T+322: SpaceX Acquires xAI as it Prepares for IPO, Blue Origin Cancels New Shepard, and Artemis II Delayed (with Loren Grush)
Feb 6, 2026
Loren Grush, Bloomberg space reporter known for scoops on SpaceX, Blue Origin, and NASA. She breaks down SpaceX’s acquisition of xAI and how it ties to IPO plans. They discuss Blue Origin pausing New Shepard and what that means for its strategy. They also cover the Artemis II wet dress rehearsal and the resulting launch delay.
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Pull-To-Refresh's Unexpected Corporate Journey
- Anthony traces pull-to-refresh back to Loren Brichter's Tweety app and shows the web of acquisitions leading to X.
- He finds it surreal that social app UX history now ties into SpaceX through corporate mergers.
Starlink Was The Revenue Engine For Mars
- Starlink was built to create predictable revenue and fund Mars ambitions by providing lucrative services.
- Loren questions whether heavy AI spending clearly serves the Mars goal the same way Starlink did.
Hardware, Not Models, Is The Space Edge
- SpaceX already has advantages for space data centers: launch, hardware, and engineering talent.
- But Loren notes it's unclear why SpaceX needed to absorb xAI to pursue space compute—hardware, not models, is the differentiator.