Originally Posted by
stilton
Have to agree, could never understand why the two large booms were not connected with a large horizontal stabilizer, like a P38
That would have made for an enormously strong airframe, the design chosen seems to put a massive amount of stress on the wing, too much I would have thought
Presumably the decision to leave the fuselages unconnected at the tail was driven by the need to accommodate the large launch vehicle fitted between them.
Unless the plan was to drop the launcher before starting the rocket engines, but that would have negated much of the reuse-ability of the concept.