I am indeed confused! Through NASA, we as Americans have progressed from simple satellites to the shuttle and space station programs. Technology has accelerated to a phenomenal all time high. Now, however, it seems as if we are taking one giant leap bacwards by abandoning the shuttle and reverting to a larger Apollo style pod! We are all well aware of the 'secret' Aurora program and can only imagine all the great covert projects that are in the works. Even private firms worldwide are gearing up their own space plane projects. The major stumbling block appears to be the shuttle tiles for atmospheric reentry. And quite frankly, I'm embarrassed for the science community to not be able to come up with a solution. In my own simple thinking mind, I can imagine a magnetic shield to protect a vehicle upon reentry. If we as a nation allow NASA to continue on this backwards road, we can all be assured China and India will indeed solve these types of deficiencies and take the lead in space exploration within the next 10 - 20 years. Who's asking the questions? Pods seem to be a waste of time and money. They will be absolutely limited to speed, maneuverability, payload, and flexibility. Now perhaps I am wrong. Just maybe,(I hope), the new pod ship is a diversion for NASA's own grand secret space plane. I will be interested to hear your opinions.

Hi, Don.

You're probably much more up to date with the topic than I am, so I'm not about to argue any points, but:

It would be irrational to fund the development of a method of transport that's neither cost effective nor of optimum service efficiency for the tasks to be undertaken during the projected lifetime of that transport - which begs the questions:

1. Where is the NASA space program heading?
2. (and 3!) What kind of transport will most effectively meet the demands of that program. And why?