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From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: space news from June 18 AW&ST
Message-ID: <1990Aug30.153610.316@zoo.toronto.edu>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
References: <1990Aug9.051409.16353@zoo.toronto.edu> <3334@syma.sussex.ac.uk>
Date: Thu, 30 Aug 90 15:36:10 GMT

In article <3334@syma.sussex.ac.uk> nickw@syma.sussex.ac.uk (Nick Watkins) writes:
>> ...  [Now that
>> the USAF has its own launcher again, it has quietly forgotten its
>> formerly-sacred rule that everything crucial had to be capable of going
>> up on two different launchers.] ...
>I'm intrigued by said rule. What were backups for following ? ...

The rule was temporarily and selectively applied; its purpose was not
to provide the USAF with a truly redundant launch capability, but to
justify the Titan IV and get the USAF back into the launcher business.
They'd never had such a rule before, and haven't since either.
-- 
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