A U.S. Space Shuttle will suffer a disaster on a mission between 18 Apr 1995 (creation date of this claim) and 1 Jan 2000. For the purposes of this claim, a disaster is any event that results in the death of one or more persons, total destruction of an orbiter, damage to an orbiter sufficient to render it permanently unflyable, unrecoverablility of an orbiter in earth orbit, or any combination of the above. Cause is irrelevant- human error, mechanical failure, sabotage, etc. are all acceptable. A mission begins at main engine start and ends when the orbiter has stopped after landing. Natural death of an astronaut during a mission (i.e., heart attack, stroke, etc.) does not count towards this claim unless an autopsy shows that the condition was _directly_ caused by conditions aboard the shuttle.
Ambiguity clause: I will judge this claim based on its precise wording, unless this wording conflicts with my perception of the intent of the claim. If both intent and wording are ambiguous, I will look for a solution that causes the least damage to FX as a market and game. If you have any questions, or think you may have found a loophole, please contact me!!
FAQ: Planned "retirement" of an orbiter in space does not count.
