Rocket engines generally are simpler than jet engines, not more complicated. Henry Spencer complicateenginegenerally Change image and share on social
Developing expendable rockets is always going to be painful and expensive. Throwing the whole rocket away on each attempt not only costs a lot, it also hampers figuring out just what went wrong because you don't get the rocket back for inspection. Henry Spencer attemptbackcost share on social
Liquid oxygen is one of the cheapest manufactured substances on Earth. In large quantities, it costs pennies per kilogram - cheaper than milk or beer. Henry Spencer beercheapcost Change image and share on social
SpaceX does seem to have had a run of bad luck, with its first three launches all failing. Henry Spencer badfaillaunch Change image and share on social
Progress requires setbacks; the only sure way to avoid failure is not to try. Henry Spencer avoidfailureprogress Change image and share on social
Spaceflight, especially in the Mercury spacecraft, clearly wasn't going to be much like flying an airplane. Henry Spencer airplaneflymercury Change image and share on social
The key virtue of orbital assembly is that it eliminates the tight connection between the size of the expedition and the size of the rockets used to launch it. Henry Spencer assemblyconnectioneliminate Change image and share on social
The communications delays between Earth and Mars can be half an hour or more, so the people on the ground can't participate minute by minute in Mars surface activities. Henry Spencer activitycommunicationdelay Change image and share on social
Whether solid rockets are more or less likely to fail than liquid-fuel rockets is debatable. More serious, though, is that when they do fail, it's usually violent and spectacular. Henry Spencer debatablefailfuel Change image and share on social
It's true that Apollo 10's lander was overweight. Late in the craft's development, it became clear that its ballooning weight was endangering the whole mission. Henry Spencer apolloballoonclear Change image and share on social
