What do you think of the cheaper "big dumb booster" concept I outlined compared to as you put it "salvageable" shuttles?
It just seems to me that all things equal, a solution to getting payload into space which protects, simplifies, and minimizes in size the crew reentry vehicle is hard to argue against.
"Big dumb booster" is a sound concept that has never really been implemented because it runs counter to the "rocket scientist" culture of bleeding edge performance and extreme reliability.
It is another good idea that is often proposed and often ignored.