The Hermes program spun out of control a long time ago. Dynasoar was a vehicle in search of a mission back in the 1960s. Perhaps we've learned a few things since then.

A 7 passenger CRV type vehicle is necessary to get any productive use out of the ISS (as marginal as that may be). While I still think my idea of "Big Soyuz" could do the job, the article implies that the Russians may not keep the Soyuz production line open much past 2006.

Start with a simple lifeboat vehicle with automatic operations, then build on the idea. This stepping stone approach can make a lot of sense. I've long contended that you don't need a manned vehicle to launch satellites (as the Russians have proved for the past 45 years). A reusable manned vehicle sized to carry a crew of about 7 people and perhaps a few thousand pounds of cargo would be much smaller and less expensive than the Shuttle. It'd be far easier to build, to prepare for launch, and to operate.

Aerospace vehicles cost by the pound, and over 90% of the launch weight is propellant. Just as weight can spiral rapidly out of control, "thinking small" can pay huge dividends. The current Shuttle orbiter has an empty weight of about 160,000 pounds. I offer the WAG that the smaller vehicle I describe (fitted for full up and down operations), could possibly have an empty weight in the neighborhood of 40,000 pounds, perhaps much less. The orbiter might not be much bigger than a mid-sized business jet like the Gulfstream G200.

As for big payloads, launch them on big, dumb boosters like the Delta IV or Atlas V. One day, we might have a cost effective fully reusable booster. This might be a spin-off for the launcher NASA wants to use to launch the small spaceplane or it might be something completely new.