Aug 2 1989
From The Space Library
A report by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) entitled "Round Trip to Orbit: Human Space Flight Alternatives" recommended construction of a fifth Space Shuttle orbiter or a Shuttle-derived launch vehicle in preparation for the Space Station assembly missions of the late 1990s. Citing estimates of Space Shuttle reliability of 97 to 99 percent, OTA warned that there was an 88 percent likelihood that another Shuttle orbiter would be lost before Space Station construction is completed. The OTA report stated: "Buying more orbiters would increase the resiliency of the Space Shuttle system... [and] its ability to recover rapidly from loss of another orbiter or any other event that delays launches. The Shuttle orbiter fleet is likely to continue to suffer occasional attrition." (AP, Aug 2/89; UPI, Aug 2/89; W Post, Aug 3/89)
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