🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <C0G2w2.FJI@zoo.toronto.edu>, henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) writes:
>In article <1993Jan06.165148.9581@eng.umd.edu> sysmgr@king.eng.umd.edu writes:
>>>There is no need to man rate. It adds cost but doesn't affect
>>>safety. If it where your money would buy the $70 million 98% safe
>>>Atlas or the $90 million 98% safe Atlas?
>>
>>YOU say there's no need to man-rate. The astronaut community and anyone who
>>goes up on it IS going to disagree with you. 
>
>Depends on *who* goes up on it; sensible people will look at the reliability
>figures and conclude that man-rating decreases the chances of a successful
>flight (because it runs up the cost without increasing reliability).
>
>The astronaut community is less conservative, overall, than their official
>public image would have you think.  You'd have plenty of volunteers from
>there if the engineering looked sensible and the purposes looked worthwhile,
>even disregarding the number of qualified volunteers from elsewhere.

These are guys (mostly guys) have a professional career of flying aircraft
on/beyond the edges.  I worked at Edwards for a short while, and one AF
construction types repeated the morbid joke that they are always building new
roads there.  Why should "astronauts" suddenly develop a need for perceived
safety?

BTW, the STS is the safest transportation system we have, based on fatalities
per passenger mile.  But who would pay $1 billion apiece for a 747?  (Please
attach a smiley to the safety record).
>
>However, Doug's point is nevertheless valid, because the original context
>was official government projects... and it is official NASA dogma that
>man-rating is mandatory for such purposes.
 And we all know that a dog ma is a bitch  :-)
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