I found another link on nasa watch for the klipper, page is in russian gives a view of capsule shape.
http://www.1tv.ru/owa/win/ort6_main.main?p_news_title_id=64387&p;_news_razdel_id=4

also found an article on shuttle tiles made at KSC, about 100 are replaced after each flight. Some good photo's of the process, handling and placement of each tile.

http://www.floridatoday.com/news/space/stories/2004a/022504tiles.htm

Here is another link for Greenhouses for Mars and what happens to earth plants when subjected to low atmospheric pressures.

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/25feb_greenhouses.htm

Final links of interest with regards to the Presidents Space exploration and reprocussions to Nasa ans it's contractors for the space shuttle as well as internal projects.
House Science Committee Chairman Delivers Speech to Space Shuttle Suppliers
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=13709

oh this is rich, from the House Science committee Chair "Tne possibility, as always - not one I'm recommending - is that Congress just punts. NASA could get just enough money for FY05 to do some additional thinking to give further shape to the initiative.. "

This is what NASA has been doing for 30 years. They spends Houndreds even thousands of millions of Dollars coming up with plans to do this and do that and nothing concrete to show for it. Someone within NASA once said "NASA is a great organization, I just wish we would do great things." Come on Guys, Great thinking doesn't cut it.

NASA consitantly impedes progress, mainly thanks to congressmen who's district gets NASA dollars. I actually think the Chair wants congress to punt, that insures more money for his district.

I sure hope MarchStorm gets Congress thinking this year. And gets the Alternative Access rolling again. Maybe even take it away from NASA and into the hands of DOT.

Its called a wait an see attitude for the next 120 plus days for the President's Commission on
Moon, Mars and Beyond to do its thing for the Bush's reports.
http://www.moontomars.org/
Public input sessions or Space Commission Hearings To Be Held At Air Force Museum ARLINGTON, Virginia, February 24, 2026 followed by its second public hearing in the soon-to-be-completed Missile Gallery of the U.S. Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio, on March 3 and 4, 2026.
with a contact point at http://www.moontomars.org/notices/contact.asp

Also NASA has put on hold any decision making with regards to the OSP and other projects for at least 90 days anouncing layoffs of 300 Huntsville jobs.
http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1077130055200180.xml

I am sure that more of this is to come waffled waffle and more waffling on the issue due to the large work force that NASA has.

Harold - please be more specific on your "waffling" claim. IMHO, OSP needed to be cancelled, b/c it doesn't fit the new vision.

Boeing and Lockheed were complaining that NASA was insisting that they finish the design studies before the project is finally cancelled. They were disputing the value of spending (their) money on a project that was effectively already cancelled.

I guess NASA wants to keep the design teams together to be able to seamlessly transfer them into the new CEV project.

I do not know how closely anyone has been following the on again off, again status with regards to the x- series ships testing unless I am totally confused as to which crafts are under the OSP project but jimo my thoughts were of NASA also with respect to the OSP asking those involed to end a project before it is complete, then to ask these same people to complete a report, then say to them they will be layed off only to come back a day later an put if off for 90 days.
As far as for a capsule or a plane a decision has not to my understanding been made. I think both have there merits within the SEI but also because some of this was promised to be made available for the ISS as an escape return craft.

I think the only active x programme is the X-43 scramjet (latest lauch has been postponed to March)

As for capsule / plane and related OSP issues: this design is relevant for crew transfer to the ISS, but totally irrelevant when it comes to SEI, IMHO. The requirements are just to different. To have the same vehicle to service two such different objectives just does not make sense. Agreed they seem to be heading to a modular approach - but to what extent can such diverging requirements have commonality? Beyond command and control interfaces, not much. (IMHO).

What I suggest: Let NASA jointly fund the new RSA / Energia "Kliper" for crew transfer to ISS. Then design a proper vehicle for SEI. The Crew Module (which seems to be a lifting body design a la X33) can also serve as crew escape craft.

The X series(33,34,37,40 or40A) program demonstrator vehicles are still showing some activity though not a lot of progress over the last 5 years for various hardware developement for RLV in the plane format of design.