An experienced designer with more freedom to act might have realised that there was just too much optimism in the Ares I concept: that a shuttle SRB was simply too small as a first stage for a rocket carrying the relatively heavy Orion spacecraft. Henry Spencer actarecarry share on social
The Apollo programme of the 1960s had some weight problems, too; in particular, the lunar lander needed some fairly drastic weight-reduction work. Henry Spencer 1960sapollodrastic Change image and share on social
Historically, the U.S.'s big launchers fly seldom enough that their costs are dominated by annual upkeep of facilities and staff, not by the actual cost of each launch. The expensive part is maintaining the launch capability, not actually conducting launches. Henry Spencer actualannualbig share on social
NASA has never had a problem finding capable people to be astronauts. NASA's problem was, and still is, finding ways to cut the list of capable applicants down to a manageable length. Henry Spencer applicantastronautcapable 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
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
The Moon may not be quite as appealing as Mars, but it's still a complex and poorly understood world, with many questions still unanswered. Henry Spencer appealcomplexmar Change image and share on social
Trying to build a spaceship by making an aeroplane fly faster and higher is like trying to build an aeroplane by making locomotives faster and lighter - with a lot of effort, perhaps you could get something that more or less works, but it really isn't the right way to proceed. Henry Spencer aeroplanebuildeffort share on social
Rocket engines generally are simpler than jet engines, not more complicated. Henry Spencer complicateenginegenerally 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
