One of the headaches of high-tech test programmes is having to debug the test arrangements before you can start debugging the things you're trying to test. Henry Spencer arrangementdebugheadach Change image and share on social
Sometimes people wonder why aeroplanes are so cheap and rockets are so expensive. Even the most superficial comparison shows one obvious difference: aeroplane engines use outside air to burn their fuel, while rockets have to carry their own oxidisers along. Henry Spencer aeroplaneairburn 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
As plans for the first lunar landing started to be made, nobody had really thought about who would be out first. Henry Spencer landlunarmake Change image and share on social
Foul-ups in testing are not uncommon, especially when the test setup is being tried for the first time. Henry Spencer foulsetuptest 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
Is manned space exploration important? Yes - not least because it simply works much better than sending robots. Henry Spencer explorationimportantman Change image and share on social
Past experience, on the shuttle and the Titan rockets, suggests that large multi-segment solid rockets have a probability of failure of 0.5 to 1 per cent. Henry Spencer centexperiencefailure Change image and share on social
