In other words, research on ISS is not important.

Budget and the fact that no CCDEV craft is expected to be available before 2015/2016. The NDS is new docking standard for commercial crew, Orion and all American manned spacecraft planned. It is NASA’s implementation of the International docking standard(Soyuz won’t change to it) but it is open for other nations to adopt. There also wasn’t much of anyway to send it up expect maybe HTV till recently(Dragon). Plus the temporary reduction in cargo capacity due to retiring the shuttle.

Soyuz and Progress production is linked so that there is a limit of how many of those could be produced in a year. The contract for Soyuz service was negotiated before the ccdev program(or at a very early point in it). Basically we are booked till 2016 on Soyuz and getting more Soyuz flights just not an easy option.

They figured it was easier to wait and have full capacity to dock and undock than do a quick rush job.

“He also wished China good luck on going to the moon.”

To great cheers and applause. Even people on the Space Coast know it’s a frivolous activity.”

Actually, there was NO applause when Romney wished China good luck with a moon landing. The applause came only after Romney said he hopes they visit one of our landing sites from 43 years ago.. THAT’S when the applause started.

“Then the space coast must have also applauded President Obama’s budget request for zero funding for constellation?”

And then they rejected the help that the WH wanted to give to FL to move on past Shuttle. Ideology trumps pragmatism.

BTW, some in FL forget that the development for Constellation was not done in FL. So what would they have done up until the time Orion was to fly? Polish the pad? Watch re-runs of Apollo XIII? Kind of boring if it were to take 20 years to fly, no?

Yeah. I know. Blunt.

To great cheers and applause. Even people on the Space Coast know it’s a frivolous activity.

Another dogmatic cult spasm. One mindless reaction mimicking another.

I can hardly can present evidence better than the blatantly obvious.
If the blatantly obvious doesn’t get through to you, nothing will.

Dragon as a lifeboat? My suspicion is that there will be a need (requirement?) that will bring Dragon well into its development cycle by what time the LAS may already have been developed. Just a bureaucratic/design issue. A sense of “we want to make sure the darn thing is working” also. Again I would not hold my breath for Dragon to be the lifeboat until it actually becomes operational for crewed mission.

As a footnote, I already said that Dragon might be crewed just (or almost) right now. LAS is not a real issue (see Shuttle) but it is some comfort for some. And SpaceX is not developing a LAS. They are developing a landing system that may serve as a LAS. I know but there is a difference.

FWIW.

Romney Taunts Chinese Moon Landing Plans

“You also just saw we just landed on Mars and took a good look at what’s going on there.”

He also wished China good luck on going to the moon.