A space plane is a reusable spacecraft with horizontal and vertical takeoff and landing capability. It combines features of an airplane and a spacecraft, making it capable of operating in both terrestrial and space environments. Space planes are designed to be more cost-effective than traditional rockets for launching payloads into orbit.
The first space plane, the X-15, was developed in the 1950s by North American Aviation. The X-15 set numerous altitude and airspeed records, reaching speeds of Mach 6.72 and altitudes of over 106 kilometers (354,300 feet). The Space Shuttle, developed by NASA in the 1970s, is perhaps the most well-known space plane. The Space Shuttle was designed to be a reusable vehicle for launching satellites and transporting astronauts to low Earth orbit and back. However, the Space Shuttle program was retired in 2011 after 30 years of service due to high operational costs.
There are currently severalspace plane concepts under development by private companiesand government agencies. These include hypersonic vehicles such as the Boeing XS-1 Phantom Expressand Lockheed Martin SR-72; orbital vehicles such as Blue Origin’s New Shepardand Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity;and suborbital vehicles such as Virgin Galactic’s VSS Enterpriseand XCOR Aerospace’s Lynx Mark IISpace Plane .
The technology required to develop these vehicles is still in its early stages, but there is significant interest in pursuing space planes as a more efficient and cost-effective means of accessing space.