It's interesting to see you speculate that it would be a culture that prioritizes reliability. I could also imagine that it is more like the Vikings or Polynesians where some fishermen pushed technology further than before and ended up somewhere new. That kind of "bravery" or experimentation has sometimes played of in past circumstances much better than some kind of architected reliability / safety focused approach.
It has to safety oriented. Space is death. Advanced civilizations can probably harness that danger like we do fire and electricity but we still f#@$ it up burning buildings and cars. Thus we spend time and energy with fire safety. Space is a different ballgame
I still think the parent has a insightful comment. It's interesting to compare the hybrid between deep care and deep recklessness of Belters in various scifi (e.g. The Expanse) vs. historical oceanic explorers on Earth. Setting off across the ocean in little more than a canoe doesn't seem particularly safety oriented, and maybe there is a civilization that evolves a similar approach to space. That could be as simple as "spray and pray," or more deceptively sophisticated like Polynesian navigation.
