[TankerKC]

Who is this Nelson guy? Was he the one on Fox that was totaly misusing statistics to say that this HAD to happen?

[txradioguy]

1999 - Columbia's launch was delayed by a hydrogen leak and Discovery was grounded with damaged wiring, contaminated engine and dented fuel line;

· January 2000 - Endeavor was delayed because of wiring and computer failures;

· August 2000 - inspection of Columbia revealed 3,500 defects in wiring;

· October 2000 - the 100th flight of the shuttle was delayed because of a misplaced safety pin and concerns with the external tank;

· April 2002 - a hydrogen leak forced the cancellation of the Atlantis flight;

· July 2002 - the inspector general reported that the shuttle safety programme was not properly managed;

· August 2002 - the shuttle launch system was grounded after fuel line cracks were discovered.



As "perfect" as everything has to be in order for these aircraft to work properly. It just boggles my mind that they'd try to run shuttle missions on the least amount of money as possible.