I do feel for the friends and families of the crew and the NASA agency in general. My uncle worked on the Apollo Space program, and I have met several of the first astronauts.
One interesting point... I remember reading an article that NASA scientists estimate that there is a about 2% chance of a catastophic failure every mission a space shuttle makes. The shuttles have gone on a bit over 100 missions (I think around 120) with two catastophic failures (Challenger and Columbia) which puts the failure rate at a little under 2%.
I think NASA really needs to re-evaluate the Space Shuttle designs because a 2% failure rate seems a little high (I know I would not drive or fly anything if I knew there was a 2% chance I would die doing it). The shuttle design is around 25 years old.... Yes, I know the shuttles have been updated through the years. However, NASA should be able to come up with something a bit more safe by now. Technology has changed considerably in 25 years, I think it is time to retire the shuttle design (ASAP) as soon as we can replace it with something better.
KF
One interesting point... I remember reading an article that NASA scientists estimate that there is a about 2% chance of a catastophic failure every mission a space shuttle makes. The shuttles have gone on a bit over 100 missions (I think around 120) with two catastophic failures (Challenger and Columbia) which puts the failure rate at a little under 2%.
I think NASA really needs to re-evaluate the Space Shuttle designs because a 2% failure rate seems a little high (I know I would not drive or fly anything if I knew there was a 2% chance I would die doing it). The shuttle design is around 25 years old.... Yes, I know the shuttles have been updated through the years. However, NASA should be able to come up with something a bit more safe by now. Technology has changed considerably in 25 years, I think it is time to retire the shuttle design (ASAP) as soon as we can replace it with something better.
KF