NASA astronauts call for increased shuttle safety
Congressional hearings will this week look at ways of improving safety on the United States shuttle program. It comes as newly-released figures show astronauts have a 1 in 129 chance of being killed in a shuttle launch.
For the moment, the U.S. has only five more shuttle flights scheduled, with the last set to take off next September. The Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics will hear evidence on how future shuttle policies should be altered to increase safety.
A total of 17 astronauts have died in three incidents during the history of U.S. shuttles. Documents obtained by Florida Today note that this works out as an astronaut having a 1 in 129 chance of dying either in the launch itself or in the nine minute journey into orbit. (The most recent shuttle deaths, in 2003, took place during re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere.) By way of comparison, the average civilian has a 1 in 6,584 chance of dying in a car crash during the course of a year.
The documents also reveal NASA astronauts recognize that space travel is inherently dangerous but they believe the figure can improve to 1 in 1,000, which is roughly eight times as safe. The Astronauts Office, which represents astronauts, notes there is currently talking of adapting rockets currently used for launching equipment into space to be used for carrying manned shuttles. It notes that at the moment these rockets do not meet the stricter safety requirements for carrying astronauts.
The group is also concerned about talk that commercially run flights, which are already in the works for taking cargo to the International Space Station, could be seen as a cost-efficient option for manned shuttles. They believe commercial companies might not appreciate the necessity of expensive safety requirements which may look like suitable areas for cost-cutting.
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