I've read HR 5781 and I've kept up with the Obama plan which varies depending on the time of day. After much soul searching, I have come to the conclusion that the HR 5781 plan is a piece of cow feces while the Obama plan (subject to change depending on where the political wind is blowing) is a piece of horse feces.
The problem with HR 5781
HR 5781 in section 202 calls for continue funding of the Ares flight vehicle. Ares I and V has been racked with cost overruns and problems and will not go into service until at least 2018, eight years after shuttle's retirement. Ares I and V are both over-budget by $17 billion. But is Obama's third plan any better? That's right. His third plan. Then candidate Obama's first plan was to replace Constellation with a
government-run preschool program. He then
changed his mind and said it was vital to fund Constellation only to change it again and stop funding altogether once he got in office.
Problems with Obama's plans
The first problem is the same Constellation. Both Constellation and Obama-Space will not have a replacement for the shuttle by the time it's needed. So if Russia jacks the price for rides on the Soyuz or deny us access altogether due to some international pissing contest with them and the US, there's nothing the US can do about getting access to the ISS. Secondly, Obama's heavy lift plan. Obama's current plan hasn't scrapped heavy lift. Instead, heavy lift will be put off until 2015 after all shuttle equipment and millings have been destroyed. IOW: Obama would have NASA start from scratch rather build on shuttle heritage to make a shuttle-derived heavy lift. Also, according to some sites, Constellation would not get mankind back to the moon until 2030. However, Obama-Space will not get us to an asteroid until 2025, only a five year difference between the two projections. The only thing Obama seems to be doing right is counting on the private sector for a shuttle replacement and the fact that Ares I and V gets defunded. But since there are other options like DIRECT or the side-mount shuttle derived heavy lift, it's pointless to scrap shuttle parts just to reinvent our heavy lift capability if we're playing on using them eventually for manned missions.