NASA Flagship Technology Demonstration Request for Information

a) FTD 1 - Advanced In-Space Propulsion Demonstration
b) FTD 2 - In-Space Propellant Transfer & Storage Demonstration
c) FTD 3 - Inflatable ISS Mission Module Demonstration
d) FTD 4 - Aero-Assist Demonstration
e) AR&D Demonstration Vehicle
f) Closed Loop Environmental Control System
g) Innovative Architectures
h) Public Outreach and Participatory Exploration

Sounds exciting to me. By 2016 we can have a Bigelow module on ISS with brand new life support, a VASIMR test on ISS that just happens to maintain station orbit indefinitely, a ULA fuel depot demo with automated docking, and a Mars aeroshell tested from LEO.

By 2016 the first iteration of the Mars exploration system will have been tested. We will learn enough to choose the best next-step to Mars. (Likely that human asteroid mission and more, projected for 2024.)

This is a fair trade for Orion and Ares. When we're really ready for BEO, I mean ready for more than barnstorming, the rockets of that day will do the job, and the capsules of today will not. Constellation was too big for its britches.