> Only much, much later was the ISS planned around the Shuttle's capabilities
IIR, the STS program (of which the shuttle was the only surviving part) was always intended to ferry cargo and some future spacestation parts into orbit. The ISS was the eventual compromise station and was a mere shadow of the original proposal.
I'm reminded of this famous joke: http://militaryhumor.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/military...
> Only much, much later was the ISS planned around the Shuttle's capabilities
IIR, the STS program (of which the shuttle was the only surviving part) was always intended to ferry cargo and some future spacestation parts into orbit. The ISS was the eventual compromise station and was a mere shadow of the original proposal.