also illogical.
There are more Space Shuttle deaths because ..... there are more people of the Space Shuttle.
Space Shuttle had 14 fatalities over 135 missions involving a total of 912 crew (including repeat crew). That's 14 fatalities out of 945 or 1.5% of total crew.
Soyuz had 4 fatalities out of 110 missions involving a total of 308 crew (including repeat crew). That's 4 fatalities out of 308 or ~1.3%.
Still the first Soyuz mission had 1 fatality simply because the other two seats were empty. Had that mission included a full crew it would have been 6 fatalities or 1.9% of crew.
A better metric is % of missions which resulted in loss of crew and vehicle. 2 of 135 on Space Shuttle and 2 of 110 on Soyuz. The two programs are roughly equal in terms of risk.
Space is dangerous (for those who are interested).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spaceflight-related_accidents_and_incidentsThere have been many more ground based deaths and many more "close calls" but both programs have been very successful in mitigating the risks involving with putting a human into space.
I would say this is the "closest" of the close calls.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_T-10-1Shortly before the planned liftoff, fuel spilled around the base of the Soyuz-U rocket and caught fire at T-90 seconds.<2> The launch control team activated the escape system but the control cables had already burned, and the Soyuz crew could not activate or control the escape system themselves. Twenty seconds later, launch control was finally able to activate the escape system by radio command, by which time the booster was engulfed in flames. Explosive bolts fired to separate the descent module from the service module and the upper launch shroud from the lower. Then the escape system motor fired, dragging the orbital module and descent module, encased within the upper shroud, free of the booster with an acceleration of 14 to 17g (137 to 167 m/s²) for five seconds. Two seconds after the escape system activated, the booster rocket exploded, destroying the launch complex. Four paddle-shaped stabilizers on the outside of the shroud opened and the descent module separated from the orbital module at an altitude of 650 m, dropping free of the shroud. The descent module discarded its heat shield, exposing the solid-fuel landing rockets, and deployed a fast-opening emergency parachute. Landing occurred about four kilometers from the launch pad. The two crew members were badly bruised after the high acceleration, but had survived.<1>
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