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The post Challenger NASA was timid and fearful

Absolutely correct! Space travel is inherently dangerous; there is no way to guarantee perfect safety. Even so, there is no shortage of volunteers to take on these missions. I would fly the Space Shuttle right now; I assume you would, too. We really have to get on with exploration of space, going back to the moon, going to Mars, mining asteroids. Big goals. The ISS is okay for what it is, but it isn't a big goal. We can debate which to do first, Mars, moon, or asteroids, but we ought to pick one or all and get on with it!

The ISS, IMHO, should be a base station for further exploration. We should have one set of craft for getting people from earth to the ISS and set to go from the ISS to the various "targets". I think one of the barriers we've had is that while the shuttle is great for earth to orbit and back (inspite of the weekend's events let's keep in mind that it really does have a good track record, not great but good) that's about all it's good for, can't land on rough terrain, can't take off without the booster. Meanwhile the old style landers are no good for earth to orbit. Instead of seeing this as weakness it should be the source of the plan.