Be careful about what you wish for, you might actually get it. What frightens me is the US could get itself stuck in an endless limit cycle. First we want "quick and dirty" success in Space (Saturn V / Apollo) and then bump against high launch costs. We then toss out the "quick and dirty" technology in favor of a low launch cost technology. However the low launch cost technology is bungled by bean counting and political micromanagement. We then revert back to a "quick and dirty" technology. The launch costs to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) are still the big barrier to Space Exploration and Development. Eventually we must re-attempt to develop a low launch cost system. Expendable Launch Vehicle (ELV) based systems at $10,000/kg to LEO are unsustainable. Does the cycle go on endlessly? We really should be working on Cheap Access To Space (CATS). A manned Mars program could provide the economic justificaton for developing CATS.

Gary