Actually, a lot of people could say that losing a second shuttle, during the cold war, would save USA manned space program. You cant stop, you cant back down, Salyut 7 and Mir are smiling at you from orbit. You have to push trough. You cant close all the spaceflight centers and factories in less than 5 years.
USA either has a major restructuring of space program and has something like modern EELVs, but scalable to versions that can take up to 100 tons up. Or a shuttle derived in line vehicle. Like the proposed National Launch System, or the modern DIRECT.
Going for a fully reusable SSTO after cutting shuttle would be a failure. Tech is not ready.
Now. Having shuttle program cut after first couple of flights (either cost, or safety issues, not necessarily a launch disaster), might give you enough time and money before 1991. to develop a economic SSTO or TSTO RLV.
USA either has a major restructuring of space program and has something like modern EELVs, but scalable to versions that can take up to 100 tons up. Or a shuttle derived in line vehicle. Like the proposed National Launch System, or the modern DIRECT.
Going for a fully reusable SSTO after cutting shuttle would be a failure. Tech is not ready.
Now. Having shuttle program cut after first couple of flights (either cost, or safety issues, not necessarily a launch disaster), might give you enough time and money before 1991. to develop a economic SSTO or TSTO RLV.