"JF Mezei" wrote in message
...


The Shuttle and ISS are great tools in the evolution of space travel.
They may not be enough to get us to Mars, but they are a step in the
right direction.


But the problem is that the American (government) way of doing manned
spaceflight is not evolutionary -- the existing capability is thrown away to
be replaced by something new. Look at the Shuttle -- the most capable
spacecraft ever developed is being scrapped so it can be replaced by Apollo
2.0 (if Congress gets its way). Yes, the Shuttle should be replaced -- by
the right vehicle, not a replay of 1967-75. It should be replaced by a
worthy successor, which Orion clearly is not. Of course, it's too late now
to develop a genuine Shuttle replacement. So the only option is to continue
the usual American stop-start method of "developing" manned spaceflight. The
only bright spark at present is the hope that the commercial options
(especially SpaceX) at least can develop a taxi service for ISS crews (or at
least for the American half). That is unless Congress succeeds in killing
that initiative because of misplaced vested interests.

Eddie Lyons
Portsmouth, UK