Absolutely. While in a lot of cases I would say that safety and the value of human life should be the first consideration, space is not one of them.
Tens (hundreds?) of thousands of people lost their lives trying to sail across the oceans to discover new lands, but the world as we know it could not exist without their sacrifice. Space is a frontier. Frontiers are dangerous. Trying to make them safe requires either a short period of intensely dangerous activity or a very long period of less dangerous activity. But space is too important to be taken slowly.
Personally, if NASA told me I could be an astronaut but there was a 30% chance I would die, I would still do it. And I am sure there are thousands more out there like me.
Tens (hundreds?) of thousands of people lost their lives trying to sail across the oceans to discover new lands, but the world as we know it could not exist without their sacrifice. Space is a frontier. Frontiers are dangerous. Trying to make them safe requires either a short period of intensely dangerous activity or a very long period of less dangerous activity. But space is too important to be taken slowly.
Personally, if NASA told me I could be an astronaut but there was a 30% chance I would die, I would still do it. And I am sure there are thousands more out there like me.
Additionally, what NASA should be doing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_dumb_booster