That was my whole point. I fully share your desires, but I'm not sure they are achievable. It may not be possible to build a "fully reusable system which doesn't require servicing by a small army", at least not at our current level of engineering expertise. If we look at comparable hi-tech systems, such as jet fighters, the amount of time they spend being serviced already greatly exceeds the amount of time they spend operating. The same goes for expense and manpower. To operate with a fair level of safety and reliability in a challenging environment, with technologies at the limit of our capability, is not an easy task. In fact, it is at the very limit of our capabilities. At best, we can hope for some optimum compromise between robustness and flexibility.

I'm sure many poor engineering decisions were made during the design of the STS, and that there was unnecessary meddling by bureaucrats and accountants, but it is a given that making something that only has to work one time is a lot easier than designing it so it can be used over and over again. Not only must it be serviced, it has to be designed so it can be serviced (i.e., there must be room so tools can easily reach inside, and parts are easily removeable for inspection and servicing, etc). These additional considerations must be added to the design specifications of the vehicle, and the design requirements of the system that is tasked to service the vehicle (people, facilities, manpower, management, training, testing, spare parts, documentation, etc). Even 18th century sailing vessels required constant maintenance and lengthy yard periods. Modern steamships are not any better.

Complex, high-performance systems, just like complex, high- performance ladies, are always high maintenance.