NASA building rocket for launch mishaps

System would launch a rocket and its inhabitants out of harm's way in case of an emergency. Sounds a little creepy.

Abort system on NASA craft would hurl astronauts to safety - Yahoo! News

Why does NASA keep doing this?

How many people have to die, how many spacecraft have to be destroyed, how many pieces of foam have to fall off before NASA gets it through its thick skull to stop launching these darned space shuttles until they fix the problems?

I hope that the brave souls onboard make it back to Earth alive...