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A comment on Orion has splashed down off the coast of Baja, California. Parent comment

Re:Orion has splashed down off the coast of Baja, California by toast0 on Sunday December 11, 2022 @05:18PM (#33948202)
I don't think the usual statistical value applies to an astronaut, especially an astronaut on a mission.

At least, the loss to NASA will be much more. For one, they're going to spend a ton of money on investigagions. For another, it could significantly impact their future budget, and their ability to hire. It would depend on the details of the deadly incident though.

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Re:Orion has splashed down off the coast of Baja, California by pfdietz on Sunday December 11, 2022 @06:59PM (#33949033)
Ah, so astronauts are inherently much more valuable than your average citizen?

Our course is clear! We must design launchers as cheaply as possible, to launch as many people into space as possible, to transmute them from relatively worthless disposable units into valuable astronaut heroes. Even if 10% of them die (say) the net increase in their overall value will make the effort totally worth it. They don't even have to do anything up there; just being an astronaut is inherently valuable, I am being told.

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