The space shuttle has problems, everybody on the planet knows this. So NASA is going back to a more traditional rocket with the payload on top design for future manned missions.
The New York Times has an article on the new design. The best quote from the article is from the new administrator of NASA, Michael D. Griffin;
“As long as we put the crew and the valuable cargo up above wherever the tanks are, we don’t care what they shed,” he said. “They can have dandruff all day long.”
But funny quotes aside let’s hope this new plan gets the U.S. back into the space exploration business.