If I were an astronaut (I’m not, which is why I’m writing this blog post…) then I’d make sure that everyone was putting every effort into making sure my future ride was absolutely bullet proof. I would realize that it was impossible to test the rocket before I used it to power quickly into the cold dark reaches of space, but other than this final step I would expect that every bit of possible effort were expended. This is my life at stake here.
What I would be pleased to see would be the current effort that NASA are putting into the Ares I rocket. Ares is the rocket upon which the Orbit shuttle will rely. Both components are critical for the success of NASA’s Constellation project that is due for launch in 2015. Preliminary design reviews have been successful, but these guys are not risking just one go at making sure it is right: this first stage is the first of many in a long line in an iterative approach to getting the Ares rocket absolutely perfect before it is put together. There really is no alternative for a rocket like Ares which carries so much hope, so much cost and so much human life with it.
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