I guess the shuttle is a mistake because people were killed. If Apollo had continued, people would have died probably during a moon mission (one reason given for eliminating the later flights). I guess Apollo were mistakes too.
Just saying a program was a mistake because it was aggressive and barely achievable is a rather poor choice of words. That says don't try anything risky. With that attitude, we'll never do or go anywhere.
Just saying a program was a mistake because it was aggressive and barely achievable is a rather poor choice of words. That says don't try anything risky. With that attitude, we'll never do or go anywhere.I agree completely. Furthermore, I'd like to add that the Space Shuttle, like Apollo before it, is a flight test program. Much of NASA's "perception problem" is self-inflicted. The "Teacher in Space" program along with sending various congressmen & senators as payload gave the public the false impression that space travel was safe, if not exactly cheap.
BANG. You lose 2 shuttles and the public is snapped back to reality: Spaceflight is dangerous AND really expensive.