As the U.S. manned space program begins its transition from government to commercial enterprise, the safety of the crew, ground, and general public is of paramount concern. A catastrophic accident early in NASA's Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program could derail the nascent commercial space industry, leaving the United States wholly reliant on Russia for manned launch services. To reduce this risk, lessons learned from past space programs should be assimilated into current commercial practice. This article traces the evolution of manned spacecraft hardware safety, from Vostok to the International Space Station, with the hope that a review of yesterday's spacecraft will benefit tomorrow's space travelers.
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