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Originally Posted by LewisM
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You really want to go toe to toe with me on this Lewis?
The X-20 Dyna-Soar program predates the BOR-4 by over a decade, and the HL-10 lifting body...which was a direct result of that program... preceded the MIG copy by a few years...
You might want to look at some of the names associated with the X-20.
I see you failed to mention the striking similarity of the Buran air-frame which magically only appeared after the US Shuttle....which by the way
was indeed flight tested by the likes of John Young (he is worth a google) to validate the dynamic envelope.
Strapping a turbofan to an orbiter is frankly a really dumb idea.
You are managing rapidly decaying energy after de-orbit, not flying circuits.
The Gulfstreams that allowed Shuttle pilots to select reverse(!) while in flight was a far more efficient training solution.
As for Soviet airliners.... put me in a B787 any day.
Sure the 737-Max program is a crock...but I fail to see any connection between that and failed Soviet Shuttles.
As for the Chinese Shuttle... I suspect we live in interesting times.