Russia's Space Research Institute has been studying the idea of a space-elevator cluster to economically deliver payloads from the Earth to the Moon and back.

SPACE.com -- Russia Studies Exotic Lunar Elevator

DIRECT is an alternative approach to launching missions planned under NASA's new mandate: The Vision for Space Exploration (VSE). DIRECT would replace the separate Ares-I Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV) and Ares-V Cargo Launch Vehicle (CaLV) with one single "Universal Launcher", capable of performing both roles.

This architecture completely removes the costs & risks associated with developing and operating a second launcher system, saving NASA $19 Billion in development costs, and a further $16 Billion in operational costs over the next 20 years.

DIRECT's single launcher would use existing Space Shuttle's facilities / hardware to lift over 70mT (basic configuration) up to over 98mT (with an Upper Stage).

This approach would introduce many key benefits (optimum use of existing NASA and contractor workers know-how, equipment, development costs, upgrade paths, early return to the Moon) over the current Ares Launch Vehicles. To know more about this concept please browse the menu for DIRECT's Proposal (pdf), images, video and related links.

Interesting. I wonder who this is.

'DIRECT' Shuttle Derivative Universal Launch Solution

U.S. President George W. Bush has authorized a sweeping new national space policy, green-lighting an overarching national policy that governs the conduct of America’s space activities.

SPACE.com -- New Bush Space Policy Unveiled, Stresses U.S. Freedom of Action

The President authorized a new national space policy on August 31, 2006 that establishes overarching national policy that governs the conduct of U.S. space activities. This policy supersedes Presidential Decision Directive/NSC-49/NSTC-8, National Space Policy, dated September 14, 1996.

U.S. National Space Policy | SpaceRef - Space News as it Happens

Lockheed Martin has entered into an agreement with Bigelow Aerospace to pursue the potential of launching passengers on human-qualified Atlas V rockets. The destination would be a Bigelow-built space complex assembled from expandable modules. Bigelow's first launch of a prototype expandable module, Genesis I, took place on July 12th atop a Dnepr rocket from Russia.

I've never really understood the whole "human rated" thing -- its not like its "ok" if a launch vehicle failure destroys a $300M satellite or dumps it into a worthless orbit.

NASA seems to have dismissed launching people into LEO on Delta or Atlas out-of-hand and I'm not sure I really understand why -- their argument seemed to be along the lines of, "it would be cheaper to develop a new rocket from recycled STS parts than to re-certify existing vehicles."

But seeing as how the new "heavy" versions of Delta and Atlas can both launch as much as Ares I (~25000kg) into LEO, Ares I seems more and more redundant.

Bigelow Aerospace and Lockheed Martin Agree to Study Human-qualified Atlas V Rocket for Entrepreneurial Space Development | SpaceRef - Your Space Reference

NASA Administrator Michael Griffin will open potentially historic talks in Beijing this week on U.S. Chinese space cooperation. But Griffin must "thread the political needle" between a tough Bush administration policy on China and Chinese military secrecy and communist bureaucracy already disarming U.S. interest in manned flight collaboration.

Space Diplomacy - U.S., China open unprecedented discussions on cooperation | SpaceRef - Your Space Reference

Voyager 1, already the most distant human-made object in the cosmos, reaches 100 astronomical units from the sun on Tuesday, August 15 at 5:13 p.m. Eastern time (2:13 p.m. Pacific time). That means the spacecraft, which launched nearly three decades ago, will be 100 times more distant from the sun than Earth is.

Voyager 1: 'The Spacecraft That Could' Hits New Milestone | SpaceRef - Your Space Reference

After two stalled attempts, NASA’s space shuttle Atlantis rolled out to its Florida launch pad Wednesday as workers ready the space plane for a planned liftoff later this month.

SPACE.com -- After Weather Delays, Space Shuttle Atlantis Reaches Launch Pad

The proliferation of garbage in low Earth orbit has reached a point where it will increase in the coming decades even if all rocket launches were canceled starting now, according to research by NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

Orbital Debris a Growing Problem with No End in Sight

In summary, America is the world's most powerful nation and the world's leader in high-tech innovation because we are better at capitalism, not because we are better at socialism. Using the tools of capitalism is now our nation's best and only chance to have an affordable and sustainable human space exploration program, and the best way to minimize the gap in U.S. human spaceflight and turn the ISS into a successful initial human settlement in Earth orbit.

Unaffordable and Unsustainable: NASA's Failing Earth-to-orbit Transportation Strategy - A Policy White Paper of the Space Frontier Foundation | SpaceRef - Space News as it Happens