Forty-three percent of those polled deemed that one accident per 100 flights was acceptable, and 32 percent said that one accident in 50 flights was acceptable. Seventeen percent said deadly accidents were unacceptable.

Fatal accidents have occurred on two of NASA's 113 shuttle missions. NASA lost another shuttle and its crew when the Challenger exploded in 1986.

The majority of Americans polled were also in favor of maintaining funding for NASA, although they considered defense or health care spending more of a priority.

Just 17 percent of respondents felt that spending for the space program should be scaled back.

Nearly a quarter (24 percent) of those polled felt that the space program's budget should be increased -- the highest level of support since 1989, according to the CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll of some 1,003 people.

The poll, conducted August 4-6, has a three-percentage-point margin of error.

SPACE.WIRE