Brian Thorn wrote:

So that's how we got Constellation (although I'd prefer EELV-derived
launch systems, that's really just a small detail in the big picture).

A small detail in the big picture, perhaps, but a very large one in
the current budget mess. When first proposed, the VSE came with a
$1 billion / year plus-up to the NASA budget. That's enough to pay
for the $5 billion CEV in five years, which is the amount of time NASA
had until the Shuttle would be retired.

What the VSE didn't come with was a big enough plus-up to fund the Stick.
That extra $5 billion development is what is blasting holes in the aero-
nautics, science, Shuttle, and Station budgets. Without the Stick there
wouldn't be nearly the opposition in Washington that there is now.

Mike

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Michael Kent Apple II Forever!!
St. Peters, MO