On Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:51:13 -0800 (PST), Damien Valentine
wrote:

Incidentally, since at least half the people on this newsgroup hated
the Constellation program in the first place

The program, or NASA's implementation of it? I don't recall too many
here screaming bloody murder about going back to the moon and on to
Mars (although some wanted to go straight to Mars.) "1 1/2 Launch" met
great skepticism, and the slow death spiral as less cheap,
off-the-shelf tech was replaced by expensive all-new, incompatible
designs unleashed a cacophony of critisicm. But Constellation as a
whole? Not so much.

But I do think NASA screwed the pooch once too often with the Ares
debacle, and this might have been the last chance it was ever given.

Brian