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Nothing about this is because they're private. The faster you innovate, the more frequently you see accidents. For decades space programs were almost entirely g

Nothing about this is because they're private. The faster you innovate, the more frequently you see accidents. For decades space programs were almost entirely government work and they suffered their fair share of accidents (in some cases like the soviets, considerably more). Conversely aviation is almost exclusively privately funded and one of the safest ways to travel is by air

ajross 4y ago
> The faster you innovate, the more frequently you see accidents. Do you though? I mean, again this article only cites three, and if that's all there were that seems to me to be a very reasonable accident rate in heavy industrial environments. People get crushed by backhoes almost every week just digging foundations and paving roads!
- morelisp 4y ago
  I imagine there are at least two orders of magnitude more construction workers (and backhoes) than rocket builders (and rockets).
  - dylan604 4y ago
    At the rate SpaceX is hurling rockets up, that might not hold true for long! ;-O
monknomo 4y ago
aviation is not exactly a laissez-faire industry with private industry self-regulating...
Robotbeat 4y ago
In fact, government programs like Shuttle had MORE fatalities (9 or 10 technician fatalities, although you can quibble with some of them) in fewer launches than Falcon/SpaceX (none). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spaceflight-related_accidents_and_incidents#Other_non-astronaut_fatalities https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spaceflight-related_ac...
- lupire 4y ago
  Plus 14 astronauts, at least half of which were because the government management overruled engineering because they wanted the PR of a successful launch (and didn't get it).
throwaway742 4y ago
Haven't we had more spaceflight related deaths than the Soviet Union + Russia?
- lupire 4y ago
  And 10x the amount of spaceflight?
  - throwaway742 4y ago
    No I'm pretty sure they have run more missions too. Remember after the shuttle and before SpaceX they were the sole ferry to the ISS.
    - Huh1337 4y ago
      There was like 1-2 flights with Russians per year, SpaceX flies much more.
- dottedmag 4y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nedelin_catastrophe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nedelin_catastrophe at least 54 deaths http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/monitoring/media_reports/705808.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/monitoring/media_reports/70... at least 48 deaths

ajross 4y ago

> The faster you innovate, the more frequently you see accidents. Do you though? I mean, again this article only cites three, and if that's all there were that seems to me to be a very reasonable accident rate in heavy industrial environments. People get crushed by backhoes almost every week just digging foundations and paving roads!

morelisp 4y ago
I imagine there are at least two orders of magnitude more construction workers (and backhoes) than rocket builders (and rockets).
- dylan604 4y ago
  At the rate SpaceX is hurling rockets up, that might not hold true for long! ;-O

monknomo 4y ago

aviation is not exactly a laissez-faire industry with private industry self-regulating...

Robotbeat 4y ago

In fact, government programs like Shuttle had MORE fatalities (9 or 10 technician fatalities, although you can quibble with some of them) in fewer launches than Falcon/SpaceX (none). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spaceflight-related_accidents_and_incidents#Other_non-astronaut_fatalities https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spaceflight-related_ac...

lupire 4y ago
Plus 14 astronauts, at least half of which were because the government management overruled engineering because they wanted the PR of a successful launch (and didn't get it).

throwaway742 4y ago

Haven't we had more spaceflight related deaths than the Soviet Union + Russia?

lupire 4y ago
And 10x the amount of spaceflight?
- throwaway742 4y ago
  No I'm pretty sure they have run more missions too. Remember after the shuttle and before SpaceX they were the sole ferry to the ISS.
  - Huh1337 4y ago
    There was like 1-2 flights with Russians per year, SpaceX flies much more.
dottedmag 4y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nedelin_catastrophe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nedelin_catastrophe at least 54 deaths http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/monitoring/media_reports/705808.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/monitoring/media_reports/70... at least 48 deaths