Re: I think miniaturization is usually considered an improvement
Miniaturization. One issue I had with the sketches shown in that article is that the crew seems to have to climb into the escape pod. From what I've seen the crew are buckled into seats in the crew cabin. In the few seconds they have to eject, it seems to me they would have to already be inside the escape pod if they were to survive. That means piloting the orbiter during launch and re-entry would be done from inside the escape pod.