Philip Bono

From his ROOST design onwards Bono advocated space launch vehicles without wings, usually using rocket-assisted vertical takeoff and landing (VTVL).

According to his estimates, wings consisted mostly of dead weight that decreased launch payload mass.

He patented a reusable plug nozzle rocket engine which had dual use as a heat shield for atmospheric reentry.

[1] Less than three months after Bono's death, the first launch vehicle based on his designs, the McDonnell Douglas DC-X (Delta Clipper) began a largely successful series of test flights.

The series of test flights began on 18 August 1993 and continued until the upgraded version of the launch vehicle (renamed the DC-XA) tipped over on landing on July 31, 1996.