Skip to main content

The Fallacy of Space Safety

  • Conference paper
Space Safety is No Accident
  • 2393 Accesses

Abstract

During his famous speech before Congress on 25 May 1961, President John F. Kennedy said "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.” During that speech he put a goal before the space community that was both exciting and nearly impossible. The fact that we were able to send men to the moon and bring them back safely was a combination of hard work and extremely good luck. Just the act of getting men off the Earth and into space is one of the most dangerous undertakings ever attempted and for the foreseeable future will not be “safe”.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. NASA/SP-2010-580, Version 1.0, (NASA System Safety Handbook) Volume 1, System Safety Framework and Concepts for Implementation, Nov 2011

    Google Scholar 

  2. NASA/SSP 50021 International Space Station Safety Requirements Document (Baseline), 12 December 1995

    Google Scholar 

  3. Foust, Jeff, Congressmen seek to fix “safety glitch” with commercial crew program, Spacepolitics.com, 1 March 2012, http://www.spacepolitics.com/2012/03/01/congressmen-seek-to-fix-safety-glitch-with-commercial-crew-program

  4. Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel – Annual Report for 2013

    Google Scholar 

  5. Wall, Mike, Will Human Spaceflight Ever Truly Be Safe?, Space.com, 27 January 2011

    Google Scholar 

  6. Virgil Grissom, Gemini: A Personal Account of Man's Venture Into Space (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1968), p. 184.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Transcript of PBS Program on the Columbia Disaster, 22 June 2011, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/space/space-shuttle-disaster.html

  8. Gouldin, Daniel, Speech to Jet Propulsion Laboratory staff, 28 May 1992 http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/jplhistory/the90/

  9. Letter from Congressman Pete Olson to The Honorable John P. Holdren, Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy, 29 February 2012, https://olson.house.gov/common/popup/popup.cfm?action=item.print&itemID=944

  10. PUBLIC LAW 108–492—DEC. 23, 2004, COMMERCIAL SPACE LAUNCH AMENDMENTS ACT OF 2004, https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/media/PL108-492.pdf

  11. Foust, Jeff, Industry, FAA at Odds Over Extension of “Learning Period” for Commercial Spaceflight Regulations, 6 February 2014

    Google Scholar 

  12. Space Tourism Industry Faces Safety Concerns, The Associated Press, 27 May 2013, http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/space-tourism-industry-faces-safety-concerns-1.1337075

  13. Barron, James, Jules Bergman, 57, Science Editor of ABC News for 25 Years, Dies, The New York Times, 13 February 1987, http://www.nytimes.com/1987/02/13/obituaries/jules-bergman-57-science-editor-of-abc-news-for-25-years-dies.html

  14. https://investor.twitterinc.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=823321, 31 July 2014

  15. http://newsroom.fb.com/company-info/, retrieved 31 July 2014

  16. "State of the media: The social media report 2012". Featured Insights, Global, Media + Entertainment. Nielsen. http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/reports-downloads/2012-Reports/The-Social-Media-Report-2012.pdf

  17. Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel – Annual Report for 2013, page 16, http://www.nasa.gov/press/2014/january/nasas-aerospace-safety-advisory-panel-releases-2013-annual-report/

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to John E. Babcock .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this paper

Cite this paper

Babcock, J.E. (2015). The Fallacy of Space Safety. In: Sgobba, T., Rongier, I. (eds) Space Safety is No Accident. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15982-9_13

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15982-9_13

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-15981-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-15982-9

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics