This is a classic article from New Scientist’s archive, republished as part of our 50th anniversary celebrations
SPACE travel is no longer routine. For a brief time, the space shuttle had us believing that perhaps it was. Now we can drape ourselves in the certitude of hindsight and chide NASA for running hell-bent, it now seems, to put the butcher, baker and candlestick maker into orbit. But will the public demand that NASA curtails its exploration of space? Will we put robots rather than flesh and blood into orbit?
Of course not. Ten people have died aboard space capsules in…
