If this really fits in the budget profile that gets approved, then it seems reasonable to me. (All of the following thoughts are dependent on that condition!)

If this really fits in the budget profile that gets approved, then it seems reasonable to me. (All of the following thoughts are dependent on that condition!) That gives us essentially a period of time for Shuttle to overlap commercial human space-flight so we can prove the new and let it compete directly for the chance to win out over the old. The fiat switch from one system to another under the old plan simply left too many holes for doubters to poke at. I like the idea of using Orion + unused ISS modules as the foundation for a deep space vehicle; at least we'd have some kind of ship to use when we pick a destination. I'm not convinced Shuttle-C is necessary given the current outline, but if we do build a deep space vehicle I could imagine times when launching a really big payload would be useful. Also via NASA Watch, a great 5-min answer to what NASA means to us: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQhNZENMG1o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQhNZENMG1o