There's no risk-free way to launch 5,000 pounds (2,268 kg) of food, science experiments and equipment to the International Space Station. Some ways, it turns out, are far more dangerous than others.
For example, before 2011, the space shuttle was the primary way the U.S. delivered such cargo, even though two of the 135 missions ended up in catastrophic failures — a rate that far exceeds what's acceptable for Earth-bound logistics businesses.
After the shuttle was retired, reliable Russian Progress modules carried such cargo. But even the Ford truck of the orbital set has its off days: In 2011, a Progress mission to the space station failed when the third stage of a rocket didn't ignite, stranding the cargo in low Earth orbit. Remarkably, it was the first failure of a Progress mission since its origins in 1978 — but it was still a failure, and an expensive one at that.
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