Well written, but this entire program is a foolish waste of resources. There is absolutely no need to ever send humans into space again. Telescopes, probes, and robotic vehicles can do everything much better and much cheaper. Even those should be used sparingly, and only for the most useful missions.

We now know in great detail that there is no other spot in the solar system that is suitable for human colonies, and never will be. The idea of leaving the solar system is completely silly and only a childish comic book fantasy.

As fossil fuels disappear, these gigantic rockets will also be in museums (which will be cold and dark, unless they are using renewable energy). Which will indeed come first: Elon landing on Mars, or the Collapse on Earth?