Hovercraft Space Shuttles

In 1970, Bell Aerospace Company delivered a report to NASA on using air cushing landing systems (ACLS) on the Space Shuttle system. These were the important parts of hovercraft – the skirts, the blowers, etc – packaged to fit in the underside of the Shuttle Orbiter and Booster. At the time the Shuttle Booster was expected to be a manned flyback vehicle, returning to a runway landing. The
The ACLS was expected to offer several advantages over conventional gear:

1)Lower weight

2) Distributed, rather than point, loads

3) Rough field and water landing capability

4) No need to de-crab after landing in crosswinds

5) Easier ground mobility

6) Higher possible landing speeds

Several obvious disadvantages came with the ACLS, including the need for relatively large and/or numerous “landing gear doors” and the relatively complex, voluminous and fuel-hungry systems.

Bell did not design their own space shuttles, but instead used an existing  lifting-body (Lockheed) shuttle orbiter and straight-winged (NASA/McDonnell-Douglas) booster.