What if Pathfinder blows up on the launch pad?
• Of course this would be a loss, but there is a very large value in the development work that was done to reach the launch pad in the first place. New techniques for ground-testing developed during Pathfinder development have retired many risks we previously thought would require in-flight testing, so we now think it pretty unlikely that flight will uncover a major problem. Therefore, if Pathfinder is not able to successfully reach operational status for some reason beyond our control, all of the LISA technologies will still been developed and tested to flight readiness.
