> Reality is more nuanced. Indeed, which is why the actual policy that was adopted, as described in the article, is not what you describe. It is "the mission c

> Reality is more nuanced. Indeed, which is why the actual policy that was adopted, as described in the article, is not what you describe. It is "the mission commander locks the hatch as soon as the Shuttle reaches orbit, and doesn't unlock it until deorbit prep". Whether to implement that at all on a particular mission appears to have been up to the mission commander, but if it was done, it was done that way, not the way you describe. > the related rabbit hole is "How do you assure that commanders are maximally reliable?" You put them through a much more rigorous screening process than payload specialists. The article explicitly draws this key distinction. Obviously no process is perfect, but the track record of the screening processes that are used for the things you mention is, AFAIK, extremely good. And, as the article notes, later on in the Shuttle program the process for screening payload specialists moved closer to the process that was already used for other crew members, and that had a positive effect.