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?

Question

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:

Answer 1

When/if you watch programs showing factories producing things you rarely, if ever, see anything going wrong. In reality, there are problems ALL the time, and things are having to be corrected on a regular basis.

Stands to reason things will go wrong with rockets aswell. Only difference is, instead of a small pile of food on the floor, you get an impressive big bang.