ROMBUS: Reusable Orbital Module - Booster & Utility Shuttle (1963)

Engineer Philip Bono described his conceptual ROMBUS launch vehicle as a crew-carrying system, though he did not describe the crewed spacecraft it would launch. The image above displays a ROMBUS vehicle on its launch platform with a typical conical payload shroud. Image credit: Douglas Aircraft Company via San Diego Air & Space Museum.As the 1960s decade began, NASA Marshall Space Flight