"So this budget cancels the Constellation Program, including the Ares I and V rockets and the Orion crew exploration vehicle. NASA intends to work with the Congress to make this transition smooth and effective, working responsibly on behalf of the Taxpayers." - NASA Administrator Bolden.
For those less familiar, Orion is the Apollo-looking capsule that was to take humans to the ISS after Shuttle is retired and further, on to the moon and even mars in decades to come. It was to launch aboard the Ares vehicles. Rumors began last week as to much of the Constellation program being restructured and most had come to believe that Ares I/V would be killed (which honestly, would've been a smart decision in and of itself), but I'm not really sure anyone saw EVERYTHING being canceled, namely Orion. NASA has been in need of a overhaul for some time now, but it's unfortunate it comes with the ending of David's program. Time will show if this holds up in Congress and what role LM will play (if any) in a private/commercial route to the ISS.
The future of space exploration is uncertain with this new budget, but what is certain is that this is the start of a rough time for Dave and his team.
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