[Jim Noble]

>>. I think the 98.2% success rate of the 113 Space Shuttle flights is a record that NASA can be proud of<<

I don't know if they're proud or not.

But I do know that they have designed a program around a failure rate of 1/100,000 whose empirical failure rate is 1/75.

There is no engineering or production capability that has been created or is planned to back up a complete loss of orbiter fleet every 300 missions.

I grieve for our heros-we can't spare people like that.

But I spit on the politicians and PR artists who have allowed the STS program to become what it is-no, not allowed it to become-demanded that it become what it is.

People, please-honor our heroes but don't mix that up with defending their bureaucrat masters.

[Man of the Right]

NASA is killing more Americans than Al Qaeda.

Hopefully, when all 5 Shuttles vaporize, the program will end. It's too bad another 21 people will have to die before that happens.