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I look forward to space shuttle advancements and one day commercial travel to the moon!
I grew up in the 60s & 70s and I was SO sure I'd be able to go into orbit for (say) my 40th birthday. Pan-Am space clippers and more.
No such luck tho. The US had the tech - but not affordably.
Related: How to Land the Space Shuttle... from Space https://youtu.be/Jb4prVsXkZU
This was a long time ago, and I could be paraphrasing, but I recall someone (who knew about such things) saying the Space Shuttle was famous for having "the grace and aerodynamic properties of a pair of pliers."
It flew like a brick on final, but coming down from orbit it was still a huge improvement over previous capsules.