"Rand Simberg" wrote in message
.. .
On Mon, 7 Mar 2005 07:29:16 -0600, in a place far, far away, "Jon S.
Berndt" jsb.at.hal-pc-dot.org made the phosphor on my monitor glow
in such a way as to indicate that:

2) The idea of using an SRB for a CEV launcher was gently dismissed in
the
article with the argument that the SRBs are inherently less safe than
liquid
boosters. Having fired successfully 225 out of 226 times, and with the
single failure (SRB burnthrough) being an abortable failure in the CEV
(possibly even an ATO?), I'd suggest that the SRB has earned some
respect.
Regardless, the heavy lift forms of the Delta and Atlas that were
mentioned
also use SRBs, no? Multiple ones? Now, which launcher might be more
reliable?

Atlas yes, Delta no. I don't believe that the Atlas solids are
multi-segment, but I'm not sure.

The issue with solids on a manned vehicle isn't the reliability so
much as the ability to shut them down in an abort.

Atlas V SRB's are not segmented and have fixed nozzles.

Murray Anderson