Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle Path: utzoo!henry From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) Subject: Re: Skeptical Shuttle Enquirer Message-ID: <1991Apr9.221533.22814@zoo.toronto.edu> Date: Tue, 9 Apr 1991 22:15:33 GMT References: <910@idacrd.UUCP> <1991Apr9.172200.13427@zoo.toronto.edu> Organization: U of Toronto Zoology In article heskett@titan.tsd.arlut.utexas.edu (Donald Heskett) writes: >It does seem to me, however, that a significantly higher percentage of >failures have occured among satellites lofted by the Shuttle, compared >with those lofted by expendable boosters... I think it is fair to say that a significantly higher percentage of *highly publicized* failures have occurred among satellites lofted by the shuttle. I'd want to take a long hard look at the numbers before saying anything more specific about actual reliability. Things like TVSat 1 (stuck solar array, satellite a writeoff), Superbird A (fuel lost overboard; writeoff), and the big Intelsat (stranded due to Titan wiring error; shuttle rescue planned) are significant counterexamples, even though they don't get the same media attention. -- "The stories one hears about putting up | Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology SunOS 4.1.1 are all true." -D. Harrison| henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry