I JUST SAT THERE THINKING. . .

When a reporter asked one of the returning astronauts what his secret thoughts had been immediately before the launch he said: " I just sat there thinking that this remarkable piece of hardware had 40,000 components, all of them supplied by the lowest bidder." Just how many crane operators have such thoughts is hard to say but Nick Elliott talked to a number of specialists to ascertain what components are most likely to fail and how to avoid or cope with the situation.