On Tue, 10 May 2005 10:14:53 +0800, in a place far, far away, "Neil
Gerace" made the phosphor on my monitor glow in
such a way as to indicate that:

"Rand Simberg" wrote in message
.. .

Which is one of the several reasons that STS (to the surprise of many)
is not "human rated."

Well, it happens to airliners too. An abort (all engines out, no control
surfaces responding) is often not survivable. But they are still allowed to
fly.

Because, unlike a vehicle that has to be essentially rebuilt each
time, and only flies a few times a year (if that), they are reliable.