And not just on the side, but the heatshield side. In retrospect, it’s possible that designing it so the heat shield faced outward (further from any falling insulation) might have been safer.
And yet it totally worked.
Well, it mostly worked. 133/135 ain’t bad, but statistics hit different for crewed vehicles.
The asymmetric design terrifies me. Fuel tank on the side? Absolutely bonkers. And yet it totally worked.
And not just on the side, but the heatshield side. In retrospect, it’s possible that designing it so the heat shield faced outward (further from any falling insulation) might have been safer.
Well, it mostly worked. 133/135 ain’t bad, but statistics hit different for crewed vehicles.
My understanding is that the payload bay had to be accessible while stacking, so tank on the other side wouldn’t work.