N.A.S.A. is full of smart people right? Actually, don't answer that. Let's try again.
N.A.S.A. is full of theoretical deisgn genius' right?
That's better.
Answer: Definitely. Anyways, they have spent time and money on redundancy (tee hee hee) and here are the results:
Levels of Redundancy
| Name | # of Back-Ups | NASA's opinion | Related to Climbing |
|---|---|---|---|
| No Redundancy | 0 | Non-critical systems. Oh my God! The strap on my sleeping blinders broke. | Clothing, rain gear, food, sunscreen, 12kN biners, wiregates |
| Redundant | 1 | Non-critical, but still important systems. Sh!t! I spilled my juice, oh well I'll grab another. | Locking biners, double back on harness, 24kN biners, 2 anchor bolts, rapping on 2 ropes |
| Double Redundancy | 2 | Critical systems. Drat, there goes the the radio. | Cross gating locking biners, 3 ice screw anchors, having someone at the bottom of the rap ropes to "fireman" you |
| Triple Redundancy | 3 | Life Critical systems. Hmmm, we seems to have run out of Oxygen. | Rapping on 2 ropes with a prussik and being "firemaned" |
The Mandatory Exception to the Rule
N.A.S.A. also states that putting in more redundancy than nessessary is actually counter productive. This is because things start becoming seriously complex and steps are missed/ignored. The most common example of skipping a redundant system is tying a prussik around the rope when rappelling. Or could you imagine trying to untangle a 4 point anchor?
I hope that helps, cheers!