Posthuman Blues

Redesign Is Seen for Next Craft, NASA Aides Say

"The plan would separate the jobs of hauling people and cargo into orbit and would put the payloads on top of the rockets - as far as possible from the dangers of firing engines and falling debris, which were responsible for the accidents that destroyed the shuttle Challenger in 1986 and the Columbia in 2003.

"By making the rockets from shuttle parts, the new plan would draw on the shuttle's existing network of thousands of contractors and technologies, in theory speeding its completion and lowering its price."

Unfortunately, as Kyle King points out, this "new" design is a disconcerting throwback to Apollo-era technology. And although it might be a workable temporary fix, I'd rather see real progress made toward creating a space elevator.