re:The shuttle
It's about this article?
(Astronaut Richard Cooper doesn't exist; it's either Richard Gordon or Gordon Cooper).
I think what should be done is to accept that any rocket to space is dangerous. What's quite something is to realize that the Soyuz (and other capsules) are safer than the Shuttle.
I wonder how not including escape meant it kind of gave the impression the Shuttle was safer than a vehicle that did have all kinds of visible escape means. It's like sending the message that the shuttle was safe, so escape systems are unnecessary but capsules are not safe, so they need all those things.
Raoul