Asteroid Belt First

Sorry for holding such a divergent view but still believe
we should shortcut all 4 of the Marshall Savage/Jack
Reynolds steps. Just load up a vehicle with ~200 people
& provisions for a 5 year expedition. Sister vehicle to
make pair for simulating gravity could be a supplies
carrier. Believe basic 2nd stage vehicle of my mass-
transit space shuttle would work fine with only 200
instead of the 800 passengers for such a long term
residency. Believe we could just stay with liquid O2/
liquid H2 engines by taking advantage of that slingshot-
catapult effect from moon & Mars to get to asteroid belt.
What is the need for LEO space station when we learned
how to rendezvous from 60's Gemini program! Just
rendezvous with several cargo shuttles to refill propellant
tanks while in LEO. Honestly believe that even going
direct to step 4 near earth asteroid is STILL short sighted.
There will be no nearby asteroids to supplement supply
of any resource missing on selected asteroid. We could
have millions if not 100's of millions of people living
in or near asteroid belt while you guys are still studying the
4 steps! If queen Isabella had you guys advising her they'd
STILL be studying feasibility of letting Columbus sail across
that ocean. Hoping I'm still a member, Ed S.