As noted, the heart of some of these delays appear to be rooted in crew safety. (spaceflightinsider.com)
Young already had a history of acting as a watchdog for crew safety and firing off blunt memorandums when the Challenger exploded shortly after takeoff in January 1986, killing all seven aboard. (fortune.com)
It indicates that SpaceX is taking a pragmatic approach to the question of how to land on Mars: while the company's jet - propelled touchdowns are an awesome sight on Earth, mastering the technology's application on the Martian surface would be an incredible challenge — and Musk himself highlights the problem of ensuring crew safety during arrival. (spaceangels.com)