re: Contradiction
Hi Doug -
I am glad to find we are in agreement that the Direct launcher is a much better design than Ares 1/ Ares 5.
While solids for manned use "lack abort modes", as von Braun put it,
at least the STS solids have been well tested, and thus Direct has an established test base.
As far as total solid rocket use goes, if your assertion that Ares 1 would lead to lower total solid use, then Thiokol would not be lobbying so hard for it. The truth is that Thiokol intends to market Ares 1 for medium lift as well.