The mission being referred to was capturing a Russian satellite in a polar orbit in the cargo bay and returning it to earth. The shuttle also needed big wings t

The mission being referred to was capturing a Russian satellite in a polar orbit in the cargo bay and returning it to earth. The shuttle also needed big wings to provide the cross-range capability it would need to complete one polar orbit and land at the original launch point (Vandenberg) despite the earth having rotated, moving the airbase by many hundreds of miles since takeoff. The original NASA spec had a smaller cargo bay and wings because it would have mainly been a crew ferry. As a result it would also have been launchable on top of a rocket instead of strapped to the side, giving better safety. Significant cargoes would have been launched independently.