In fact, the SEI based it standards in part from watching the on-board shuttle group do its work. The group writes software this good because that's how good it has to be. NASA knows how good the software has to be. Before every flight, Ted Keller, the senior technical manager of the on-board shuttle group, flies to Florida where he signs a document certifying that the software will not endanger the shuttle. If Keller can't go, a formal line of succession dictates who can sign in his place.
Software is everything.
In the history of human technology, nothing has become as essential as fast as software. In office buildings, the elevators, the lights, the water, the air conditioning are all controlled by software. In cars, the transmission, the ignition timing, the air bag, even the door locks are controlled by software. In most cities so are the traffic lights. Software is everything.