Probably no one in the space community has missed the renewed and often disorderly debate over whether to retire the space shuttle at the end of 2010 as planned. We are well down the path toward that retirement, to be followed by a five-year gap while the new Orion crew vehicle and Ares launcher are being developed. During this time, we will depend – also as planned – upon Russia and its Soyuz system for crew transportation and, if needed, crew rescue for the international space station (ISS).
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