Tom is right, though, this should have and could have started a long time ago. But it takes a considerable amount of preparation before we can even begin to understand what we are doing, why we are doing it, and how we can proceed.

I posit that point was during the Space Launch Initiative. We had enough of an inking after the failure of the X-33 cryogenic tank that we needed to revert to standard straight stack configurations with liquid engines, and we had a perfect program up and running that would have produced new, powerful and efficient engines in great quantities and diversity. But what Bush did was destroy the entire effort, and then proceed to seriously run the train off the rails.

Luckily Elon Musk came along, and we got our EELVs flying. Now we know what we need to do, and it isn't Constellation, Orion, Ares I and V, or the moon and Mars in any way shape or form, at least not for the next eight years. Enjoy your stay in the penalty box, and by all means make the best of a real bad situation.

The commercial space transportation ball is rolling folks, and it most definitely is in your court. If you can't get the job done with the hardware you have flying right now, then you can't continue to claim that you have the right stuff.

In the entire history of space flight, I have never seen it this good.