Future Shuttle Launches
True safety should begin with complete reality based thinking, back up systems and confidence in the abilities of the systems and those trusted to do their job. Just because the space shuttle would most likely be doing a dead stick landings as it always does should not make any difference, as the runway at Cape Canaveral is huge and made for such emergencies. Additionally why would the astronauts need to see to fly the spacecraft/aircraft at that point? After all they practice such aborted launches after lift off in simulators, where they are not actually looking at the ground and also we have available now systems, which are even used in Business Jets for zero/zero visibility landings. Is it possible to have such a system for the space shuttle launch? Or can we send up fire works along the perimeters of the spectator areas to trick a missile fired by anyone with a hand held surface to air shoulder launched weapon? We know our Space Shuttle could be targeted by International Terrorists. The systems send out many very hot flare type pieces out of the back of the aircraft and fool the Surface to air missile into thinking that those are the targets, thus the missile goes after the chafe flares instead of the actual aircraft.
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