Suborbital spaceplane
A suborbital spaceplane is a spaceplane designed specifically for sub-orbital spaceflight. A few projects of civil and military suborbital spaceplanes were in past in Nazi Germany, United States, Soviet Union etc. From the beginning of 21st century, it is expected that this type of spacecraft, as projects of many private companies, will play a key role in early space tourism.
History
The first ever true suborbital spaceplane was the North American X-15, which first flew above the Kármán line in 1963.
The first privately built and privately funded suborbital spaceplane was Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne, which first flew above the Kármán line in 2004.
See also
- List of manned spacecraft
- List of private spaceflight companies#Crew and cargo transport vehicles
- Point-to-point sub-orbital spaceflight
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