No, the Shuttle post-Columbia. The use case was that in case an orbiter sustained irreparable tile damage on launch, the crew would hole up in the ISS for weeks

No, the Shuttle post-Columbia. The use case was that in case an orbiter sustained irreparable tile damage on launch, the crew would hole up in the ISS for weeks until a rescue Shuttle could be launched. But it was still worth seeing if the damaged orbiter could re-enter and land, so they developed the cable (stored at the ISS) and software to allow an unmanned orbiter to allow that. Obviously was never used.