57 Quotes by Henry Spencer

Indeed, "brute force" solutions are often characteristic of advanced cultures, not primitive ones. The Romans and their predecessors spent a long time figuring out how to build arches... and virtually all our buildings today use post-and-lintel construction, precisely what the arch was devised to replace. We have better materials and more money, and given that, arches are usually not worth the extra complexity.

Progress requires setbacks; the only sure way to avoid failure is not to try.

Liquid oxygen is one of the cheapest manufactured substances on Earth. In large quantities, it costs pennies per kilogram - cheaper than milk or beer.

Rocket engines generally are simpler than jet engines, not more complicated.

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.

As plans for the first lunar landing started to be made, nobody had really thought about who would be out first.

Claiming that solid rockets are necessary for a heavy-lift launcher is obvious nonsense.

Foul-ups in testing are not uncommon, especially when the test setup is being tried for the first time.

If your goal is to change the world, you can't start by doing things the same old way because it sells better.