[xrp]

Mission by mission, aren't the space shuttles having a more proven success percentage as opposed to Apollo capsules?

[Charlotte Corday]

Mission by mission, aren't the space shuttles having a more proven success percentage as opposed to Apollo capsules?

Well, we lost one Apollo crew out of sixteen - the first one, in what was intended to be the first shakedown flight.

I think a better comparison would be to Soyuz, which had two fatal accidents (again early on) and over a hundred safe flights ever since.

The problem with the shuttle is that its hazards are inherent in the design and can't be eliminated by any amount of incremental improvement.

[WestPacSailor]

Capsule failure rate on reentry = 0%. It isn't pretty, nor does it make very compelling TV, but they DO work, every time.

[Kozak]

Mission by mission, aren't the space shuttles having a more proven success percentage as opposed to Apollo capsules?

NO ONE died in flight in either Mercury, Gemini or Apollo. NO ONE.

[Moonman62]

Mission by mission, aren't the space shuttles having a more proven success percentage as opposed to Apollo capsules?

Capsules probably are safer, but not without considerable risks. Considering the sclerotic state of NASA, I wouldn't count on them to launch capsules safely either.