Aerospace Plane

a new type of piloted, jet-engined aircraft (in particular, winged) with an airfoil shape, intended for flight in the atmosphere and in space and combining the properties of an airplane and a spaceship. Designed for repeated use, it must be capable of taking off from airfields, accelerating to orbital speed, flying in space, and returning to earth to land at an airfield. One of the main functions of the aerospace plane is to carry supplies and fresh crews to the manned orbiting stations. The fact that the aerospace plane can be used repeatedly is expected to make it more efficient and economical than present-day carrier rockets. The United States is studying the possibility of using the aerospace plane for military purposes. It is proposed that the aerospace plane be powered by a combination of an air-breathing jet engine for flight within the atmosphere and a liquid-fuel rocket motor for space flight. Studies are also being made of the possibility of using nuclear power. Research is being conducted into a number of complex problems relating to the building of the aerospace plane and work is in progress (1970) on specific aerospace-plane and space-shuttle projects (for instance, Astro in the USA and Mustard in Great Britain) with an initial mass of up to several hundred tons.