On Thu, 1 Nov 2012 01:16:10 -0400, "Greg \(Strider\) Moore"
wrote:


Maybe. The awful truth is astronauts are cheaper to replace than a
multi-billion dollar payload.

No maybes about it. Titan 34D blew up in April 1986 three months after
Challenger and was flying again by October 1987. Shuttle didn't return
to service until September 1988. Titan IV-Centaur failed in August
1998 and flew again in April 1999. Columbia was lost in February 2003
and Shuttle didn't return to service until July 2005, a flight which
led to a further one year grounding.

Brian