Yes, I would expect that from a frenchie. A replacement for the space shuttle is not necessary. There is nothing wrong with the it, it works just fine, A prime example is the landing of the Discovery. Spending more money to work on a larger and more capable vehicle is definitely necessary(for the flight to Mars, duh), but to cancel flights because of the risk of burning up in reentry or being struck by debris is stupid. The risk is no different than that taken by the first astronauts during the Mercury and Gemini programs. To drop everything and build a replacement immediatley would be giving up our heritage to those commie chinks.

Maniac05