Escape systems
We see here at NASA another example of designing your way into oblivion with creeping requirements.
Obviously, it would take only a simple space capsule and parachute, more compact than the current Soyuz package, to get the job done.
Dust off the Apollo drawings, or something. Scale as required.
But then someone wondered what would happen if someone was too badly injured to stand high G-loads, and bingo! Suddenly we've got a lifting body, giant glide chutes, and the grossly overpriced X-38, which has been saddled with specs that allow it to carry little old ladies with brittle bone disease home from space. Nice, but now when the X-38 drowns in red ink, we're stuck with no capsule at all for seven-man crews.