It also didn't help that the design was compromised. In order to get funding from the miltary, the shuttle had to be able to switch to a polar orbit which is w

It also didn't help that the design was compromised. In order to get funding from the miltary, the shuttle had to be able to switch to a polar orbit which is why it had those stupidly large engines that serve no purpose otherwise. If you get rid of that, you actually can design a reusable space plane.