I can’t agree with you that Shuttle has been a disaster. We’ve made huge strides living and working in space with the program. EVA’s that were unthinkable during Gemini & Apollo are now routine on Shuttle-Station.

The contracts for Constellation have already been issued, and the test vehicles are already being built.

And we’re going back to capsules and splashdowns because that’s the method required for the new mission. If you think shuttle was a disaster, why do you deride the old, proven methods for interplanetary travel?

Back in the so-called “day” we dreamed of living and working in space, and not just sending test-pilot jocks on (admitedly spectacular but comparatively simple) moon-shots. Just recently, Dan Tani got back from a long-duration flight, after which he described a scene from the station. He said he went from one end of the station to the other and saw 10 men & women of 4 different nationalities living and working in space; some were spacewalking on an EVA, others were guiding the robotic arm doing station construction, one was excercising, one was conducting experiements, and a few were preparing the shuttle for departure the following day. All at the same time.

That’s it. We got there. Human history is a lot longer than the three tiny decades of Shuttle. There’s no way we could do what we’re about to do without Shuttle-Station. My hat’s off.

Anyone who doesn’t see that NASA is kicking a$% right now isn’t paying attention.

The shuttle is no longer the most complex piece of machinery ever built. The ISS is HUGE! There are 3 crew members (soon to be 6) plus 7 visiting shuttle members living on a station bigger than a 3-story house.

How are we going to live on the Moon and Mars before we learn to undergo large-scale construction in space?

I mean, getting to the Moon was spectacular, but we basically did it in a tin can compared to what we’ve got going on up there right now.

NASA isn’t the most impressive when they recover from near-disaster. They’re the most impressive at times like this, when they’re doing everything to perfection.

Keep ‘em coming! You’re one of the most entertaining contributors to this site.

May there be many more NASA references on Trek we can add in the coming years/decades! :-)