when,for a moon base,we resurrect space
shuttles and seek outer orbits with manned craft
we will need to know how reliable our hardware is
and our probabilities of failure.Zero tolerance for booster shots
of rhetoric and public relations confidence.Tests within atmospheres
are not projections for zero gravity,and we become obsolete
the more we project false optimism for future failures
CHALLENGER was a manned example of hubris.
Many unmanned rockets before had failed-yet we
believed more than tested every part for wear and tearing.
This will happen again.The fault is optimism over examination.
Any war needs both the confidence of leaders
and the professionalism of engineers.Flight data is not political.
Success may not mean you are free from defects
It just means they have not killed you yet
A response to Feynman's Appendix to the Rogers Commission Report on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident: http://www.ralentz.com/old/space/feynman-report.html
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