I was thinking that any cargo payloads could simply be launched with a big dumb rocket. If anything needs a human touch then it could be boosted to space first, then a separate launch could carry astronauts.

The manned launch would be a tiny vehicle in comparison, basically an orbital hotel, maybe big enough to carry a microgravity lab, but no bigger. Certainly not a 40-tonne payload bay. Instead it could be equipped with EVA gear, really hot robotic system. Giant super-articulated robotic manipulators that can rendezvous with multiple orbiting satellites and work on them simultaneously. It could affix itself to the ISS exterior or crawl along the outside, hand-over-hand. It would be manned spacelab with tentacles for large-scale assembly operations.

And all the grappling and assembly robots would be a great contract opportunity for Canadian companies!