New launch capabilities are needed to support the evolving U.S. civil space activities. Requirements are materializing for unmanned cargo vehicles and manned systems to effectively support a balanced aggressive space activity, including the Space Station Freedom and planetary exploration. Needs include larger lift, better assured access, lower operating costs, and operating flexibility. The set of logical, complementing new cargo vehicles are a mid-1990s Shuttle cargo vehicle for delivery of 45,400–68,000 kg (100 K–150 K lb) to low Earth orbit (LEO) with limited flight rates; the modular Advanced Launch System with 45,000–90,700 kg (100 K–200 K lb) by the year 2000, and a very large heavy lift capability system of 90,700–181,400 kg (200 K–400 K lb) by 2010. Manned access must be sustained and broadened by improvements to the Space Shuttle operations, the use of a personnel launch vehicle in the late 1990s, and consideration of a Space Shuttle replacement in 2005–2015. Designs must and are embracing modularity, ruggedness, recoverability, new manufacturing techniques, and selected technologies to achieve necessary reliabilities, operability, and cost effectiveness. The result is a logical time-phased integrated set of effective capabilities.