The Space Shuttle is old technology, dangerous and expensive, but capable because of it's ability to return payloads.
Orion will finally give NASA the capability to send people beyond low Earth orbit and will be a hundred times safer.
Knowing all that
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ARE YOU STILL HAVING A HARD TIME GETTING EXCITED ABOUT THE ARES / ORION CEV AFTER THE SHUTTLE?
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Anonymous
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I would't say a hundred times safer. They are still having trouble with the SRB reverberation problems. The larger SRBs magnify the same effect that the shuttle SRBs experience. The shuttle program is littered with cut corners, however, and it has outlived its scheduled retirement date. No, I can't wait till they launch the first one, it will be like we actually have a space program again (not just a space pick-up designed for hauling stuff back and forth from LEO).
Jack P
yep, I'm having a hard time getting excited about it. The US government is deficit spending at the moment, but it won't, can't continue. Most non-essential government spending will dry up, including most of what NASA does.
pyrasphere
i'm very excited about the constellation program.
i was still in diapers when the last of the apollo missions took place.
i'd like to live through manned space exploration that actually takes us places
Anonymous
Yes, I'm excited about this.