Where to place radiators?
There was an interesting hybrid in Larry Niven’s World of Ptavvs. The “honeymoon special” was laid out sideways like an aircraft. The spacecraft resembled a huge arrow. It sat on the takeoff field like any aircraft while the passengers boarded. It would taxi down the runway and take off with JATO units, the “tail feathers” acting as wings. Once aloft, the scramjets kicked in, boosting the ship into Terra orbit. In space, the main fusion propulsion system was in the belly, not the tail. The ship flew through space sideways, which kept the direction of “down” still pointed at the floor. The wings also contained the heat radiators.
