NASA Announces New Shuttle, Takes Giant Leap Backwards

NASA has announced replacement plans for the space shuttle, claiming that the new vehicle will be around 10 times safer than the marvel of 1970's technology we currently use to boldly wade in the shallow end of the final frontier.

From the picture, this thing looks kinda like a prank. It almost looks like what one of those rice rocket guys would do to the original moon-lander if he got a hold of one. You know, add a kewl body kit, some extenders, and a funky paint job to make all the honeys go wild.

Unfortunately, though, this is the real deal.

The orbiter will be part of the plan to return to the moon, which apparently also includes a plan to return to Moon-Landing-Era space technology and design. They wanna use this thing to get to Mars, too.

Jeez, NASA. What happened to you? The concept drawing looks like something I could build in my garage.

What the fuck happened to space planes and starships? Why are we so content to just dick around with rockets forever?