re: Escaping ?
I think NASA should escape from being in the launch business.
Look at the escape systems on airlines or small planes. Are they really insufficent and need improving? Do we need NASA developing these "improved systems"- afterall people are dying from airplane crashes.
The real problem is simple, NASA should never had gotten into the launch business- hindsight, it was a MISTAKE. Maybe there were good reasons for this mistake, but these reasons have been proven wrong and/or are no longer valid.