Aerospace Business Has Its Doubts About Plans to Revamp NASA, NY Times

"Michael C. Gass, president and chief executive of United Launch Alliance, has said that upgrading the low-end version of the Atlas V for astronauts -- adding a monitoring system to alert controllers of problems with the rocket and modifying the launching pad to handle astronauts -- would cost $400 million. "When you start getting into a heavier crew transfer vehicle and a dedicated launch facility, it's over a billion dollars, but less than two," Mr. Gass said. Those improvements "should be funded by the U.S. government" without additional investment from Boeing and Lockheed, he said."