NASA slashes Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle crew size to four, The Huntsville Times
"NASA is slimming down its Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle by removing two seats and cutting its crew size from six people to four, a space agency spokesman confirmed late Monday."
"NASA made the crew size change "in order to improve schedule and cost confidence by minimizing multiple configurations under simultaneous development during the Program's early phases," Hautaluoma said. "While a four-person crew would save some mass, the issue of mass savings was not a major factor in the decision-making process. "
Editor's note: Weight was not a major factor, hmmm.
Editor's note (Keith Cowing): It is rather sad that Mike Griffin's grand design for Ares I can no longer meet even its most basic, high level requirements. So much for "Apollo on Steroids". What's next - a two-person lunar lander? If weight was "not an issue" then I suppose that Steve "the next von Braun" Cook won't need to be using any of the saved weight to solve Ares 1 upmass issues - since the rocket is perfectly designed as-is --- right?