It’s been more than 40 years since the first successful space shuttle launch. However, as we saw with the recent NASA launch, we still have launch failures. Why is it so tough to achieve reliability in space shuttle launches? Does this apply to all space technology?
In:
You are taking the components that make a bomb to fling a bunch of extremely complex electronics and machinery plus possibly people off the planet in a way that doesn’t explode in the wrong way often made by the lowest bidder.
These parts are often custom made parts that are not mass produced so not only do they have to be designed specifically for what they are making but they are also made out of exotic materials to be as lightweight, rigid/flexible, strong or thermal resistant so they cost a lot.
Even a single error in math or programing error can literally cause the project to fail cost millions or even billions of dollars and people could die. Also you have to recruit and manage some of the smartest and most educated people in the world and keep them happy and productive doing a stressful job where if they mess up it could have psychological consequences.
* The $260 million Nasa’s Genisis Probe crashed because a pair of parts was installed backwards.
* The $125 million Mars Climate Orbiter was lost because some engineers used feet and other used meters.
* The $370-500 million Ariane 5 Rocket: self destructed because an old piece of software unexpectedly threw an unexpectedly large number.
* The $5.5 billion Challenger Space Shuttle exploded because of an O-ring failed because it couldn’t handle the cold launch weather and no one important listened to the guy that pointed out the problem and even though he did everything he felt he could he quit out of guilt.
Latest Answers