HL-20 CREW RESCUE VEHICLE
Notes:
The “luxury” option was the Langley Research Center's $2-billion HL-20 which was loosely based on a Soviet spaceplane design. It could carry a crew of eight and might even double as a mini-shuttle if launched on a Titan IV rocket. Its lifting body design would have provided superior maneuvrability for safe return from orbit. However, Congress balked at the price and cancelled all funding in 1990.
