Quote Originally Posted by Ghandi
Obama scrapped the present programs as he realized they were absolute cash cows for Bush cronies who where reaping in millions of dollars every year with lucrative NASA contracts.
Possible, I have heard that too. A pity though as I liked the design even before the decision was made.

And I don't really know what it will be replaced with. Something completely new for interplanetary distances but there is really not anything revolutionary waiting in the wings. It also means that the US will have no manned capability at all for a long time, most likely more than 10 years.