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Including features that are never used is bad design even if they don't compromise every other aspect of the design. What mainly doomed the shuttle was the DoD
by adamjb 6y ago
Including features that are never used is bad design even if they don't compromise every other aspect of the design.
What mainly doomed the shuttle was the DoD requirement that the shuttle be able to pluck a satellite from a polar orbit in one orbit, making it necessary to include the massive wings so that it wouldn't be forced to land in the Pacific as the world rotated underneath it.
- elil17 6y agoIf they’d used those features it wouldn’t be public knowledge
- patmorgan23 6y agoYes it would. There's no such thing as a secret satellite, it's impossible to hide them. General astronomy would notice that their's one less satellite.
- rsynnott 6y agoYou absolutely could not conceal a polar shuttle launch. No such thing ever happened.
- nemo44x 6y agoPerhaps because it existed, it never had to be used. Deterrence is a feature. An ounce of prevention, as they say.