Proposed in the 1970s for the American space shuttle, the Rockwell C-1057 was the result of design which was aimed to minimize the proposed vehicle’s length without losing cargo space.
source.image: Hazegrayart
The Rockwell C-1057, born during Phase B studies, aimed to shorten the Shuttle Orbiter without losing payload space. Engineer Harry Scott proposed an unconventional solution: turning the cargo bay sideways.
The solution was to simply take the cargo bay and flip it sideways. The result is this unique vehicle, although the design never made it past the proposal stage.
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The resulting “Breadbox” was short, squat, and surprisingly aerodynamically sound. However, integrating it with the ET and SRBs remained a mystery, contributing to its demise as a concept.
