The crafty engineer was Charles Steinmetz, and the business owner balking at the invoice was Henry Ford [1]. EDIT: Maybe not so true after all [2].<p>I had never heard of Maston Space Systems. It&#x27;s amazing they were able to compete with such massive names in Boeing, and Lockheed.<p>[1] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.smithsonianmag.com&#x2F;history&#x2F;charles-proteus-steinmetz-the-wizard-of-schenectady-51912022&#x2F;?no-ist" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.smithsonianmag.com&#x2F;history&#x2F;charles-proteus-steinm...</a><p>[2] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=10389203" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=10389203</a>