Not until the space shuttle started flying did NASA concede that some astronauts didn't have to be fast-jet pilots. And at that point, sure enough, women started becoming astronauts. Henry Spencer astronautconcedefast Change image and share on social
Solid-fuel rockets can't easily be shut down on command. Henry Spencer commandeasilyfuel Change image and share on social
Technically and financially, it might still make sense to give up on Ares I and simply write off the money spent on it, but politically, that's probably impossible. Henry Spencer arefinanciallygive Change image and share on social
In a small spacecraft, it was hard for the other two guys to sleep when the on-duty man was talking to Mission Control regularly. Henry Spencer controldutyguy Change image and share on social
Sure, there were hopes that Constellation's systems could later be adapted to support more ambitious goals. But Apollo had those hopes, too. It didn't work in 1970, and it wasn't going to work in 2020. Henry Spencer adaptambitiousapollo share on social
If your goal is to change the world, you can't start by doing things the same old way because it sells better. Henry Spencer changegoalsell Change image and share on social
Large solid rockets have never been a very good way to build launchers that might have crews on top, especially because of the problems in getting the crew away from a failing launcher. Henry Spencer buildcrewcrow Change image and share on social
The original specifications for Apollo navigation called for the ability to fly a complete mission, including a lunar landing, with no help from Earth - none, not even voice communications. Henry Spencer abilityapollocall Change image and share on social
My one concern is that when money gets tight, it's easy to cut R&D funding that isn't tied to a specific project - look at what's happened to NASA's aviation research. Henry Spencer aviationconcerncut Change image and share on social
In the long run, it's impossible to make progress without sometimes having setbacks, although people who get lucky on their first attempt sometimes forget this. Henry Spencer attemptforgetimpossible Change image and share on social
