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There weren't control algorithms involved, the shuttle's fuel tank would have been its own glider with its own crew: https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/model-space-sh...

> The algorithms were invented in 2010s

The McDonnell Douglas DC-X first vertically landed in 1993 and had an autoland capability. NASA also soft-landed probes autonomously on the moon way back in the 60s with Surveyor, though they would have been way easier to control than a booster.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=wv9n9Casp1o