"It's the most dangerous manned spacecraft ever flown,
by anybody."
Source: Former NASA astronaut -- and three-time
shuttle mission specialist -- Mike Mullane, on the inherent risks
of the space shuttle orbiters. In his new book "Riding Rockets,"
Mullane states astronauts flying aboard the shuttle are put at risk
by the orbiter's lack of a powered launch escape system, similar to
those once used on NASA's Mercury and Apollo flights (and are still
used by Russia on Soyuz launches.) Mullane also states the
sheepishness of astronauts, including himself, who were afraid to
speak up about safety oversights in the wake of the 1986 Challenger
tragedy (for fear of being drummed off the flight program) may have
indirectly led to the 2002 loss of Columbia