> > NASA chose the shuttle-derived option for its launch system due to its
> > superior safety, cost and its availability.
>
> Ha! I have heard that before... Cost and availability? Maybe... Superior
> Safety? Never!

Safety for the CEV WILL BE BETTER than the shuttle.  Period.

Reasons:
1.  The "bugs" in the shuttle have been worked out, and the
same technology (SSME, SRB, external tank) will be applied
to the CEV.
2.  For the first time since Apollo, an escape tower will be used,
which would have saved the crew in the Challenger accident.
3.  The mounting of the actual crew vehicle, ahead of all launch
hardware, eliminates the possibility of damage caused by bits
falling off the launch hardware.  That eliminates the accident
that killed Columbia.

That's not to say there can't be accidents, just that the accidents
which have hit the shuttles won't be repeated.  A reduction in the
potential accident pool is an improvement in safety.  And most
likely, in this case, a significant increase in safety.

The shuttle's "flaws" are caused by its dual role as a people
transporter and a cargo hauler.  Very few things can lift as
much mass to LEO as the space shuttle.  The CEV is "just"
a crew vehicle- large loads needed by the crew on orbit will
be lifted by a different vehicle.

It'll also be cheaper to develop than the shuttle, since it uses
existing shuttle technology, which allows them to bypass the
incredible expense of "man-rating" that technology.

Mike H.

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