NASA's Constellation Program

I just don't get why this "New" spacecraft looks and works like the old one. You'd think we'd have more advance design now then we did when we first started the damn space program.

it will have to work like the old one because it is an advanced apollo craft and you have to use the same steps to get to the moon

Well, you'd think with more space experience, we'd have figured out a better method. Instead of just improving old technology to modern time, you know?

Because, somewhere on a sterile sattelite circling the Sun, soil is waiting to be scooped up by an Astronaut's gloved hand...

Fear Not! We'll still live in (chipboard and gypsum) homes and eat (overpriced, frozen) veggies, whether-or-not we dust off half century-old technology to send a couple of dozen people to some dirtpile orb in the sky...and, in the process, ensure that shareholders of LockMart can afford really nice houses in Martha's Vinyard.

lol

I'm sure some of BO's multimillion PAC donors from the unions and aerospace companies in Blue State districts will make sure they get some of that trillion dollar 'stimulus' pork.

A ballistic capsule, with an ablative heatshield and expendable launch vehicles...

Sad and kind of pathetic, really: just how far backwards they've gone. The '60 Dyna-Soar was more advanced.

NASA is not going to allow the development of a reusable system that would lead to gutting their bloated workforce (10-20k, to turn-around the Shuttle). You U.S. taxpayers get to piss away billions more on some stupid Kennedyesque moondirt stunt.

At this rate, TRULY routine space access will never happen.

ballistic capsule is the most efficient vehicle config for long duration space travel. Wings will add extra mass.

Orion IS reusable.

I'm not a US taxpayer ^^

A. The most efficient is to split the roles. Vehicle to LEO, another vehicle for DS: you leave the wings in LEO. I'm not an engineer (or even remotely smart!), but...

B. Only the actual pressure hull of the capsule is reusable. Everything else goes to the bottom of the sea. The heatshield is ablative.

C. Your lucky. Pitty the U.S. taxpayers, their children and GRANDCHILDREN, who will get to pay off this pointless porkbarrel programme, to the tune of tens of billions of dollars.

Really?! haha I might change my pinion about Barack Obama. :)