Summary
- X-37B spaceplane is secretive and operates in orbit for research and testing, competing with China.
- Spaceplanes operate in space and air, land accurately on runways, but need a rocket launch.
- Spaceplanes like the NASA Shuttle might make a comeback for supersonic travel and space tourism.
The word “spaceplane” brings up an instant image of some sort of high-altitude sci-fi craft, but real-world spaceplanes aren’t quite that exciting, at least not yet. That doesn’t make them any less cool, and I suspect during this century spaceplanes may become quite important.
You’ve Heard of the X-37B, Right?
If you’ve ever followed spaceflight news, you’ve probably heard of the X-37B, the secretive robotic space plane operated by the U.S. Space Force. It looks like a miniature space shuttle and can spend months or even years in orbit before gliding back to Earth.
The X-37B is in competition with space plane projects in countries like China, and can be put into orbit to do research and testing of equipment or other experiments. However, since its missions are largely military in nature, we don’t know exactly what it’s doing up there or why.
What Defines a Space Plane?
The most basic definition of a space plane is simply a craft that can operate both in space and in an atmosphere. For now, that means operating within Earth’s atmosphere, but obviously it would count on any planet or other heavenly body with an atmosphere.
It does not mean a craft that can reach space and come back on its own. While there have been planes that have reached the edge of space from the ground, there are none (that I know of) which can take off like a normal plane and fly into orbit. The spaceplane needs to be strapped to a rocket, or piggyback on another craft that can take it to the edge of space and then release it. Maybe we’ll have “single-stage-to-orbit” craft one day, but not yet!
The main advantage of a spaceplane is that after it’s done with its space mission, it can land pretty much exactly where you want it to, under the assumption that you want it to land on a runway, that is! It’s accurate and reusable.
Here’s a great example of arguably the most famous space plane (the NASA Space Shuttle) landing at Kennedy Space Center.
It’s a beautiful, graceful sight. But, make no mistake, this is an engineering miracle that combines the cutting-edge of materials science, computer technology, and aeronautics.
The alternatives to space planes like the shuttle are crew modules like the Apollo Command Module, the NASA Orion Spacecraft, or the SpaceX Crew Dragon, seen here making a splashdown.
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Ham the Astrochimp went boldy where no chimp had gone before.
Historical Space Plane Attempts
There have been various attempts, with mixed success, at making space planes over the last 70-odd years and the North American X-15 project, which flew from 1959 to 1968, is a precursor to space planes. After over 199 flights, this rocket-powered hypersonic plane set records for speed and altitude all over the show. Notably, it crossed the edge of outer space, which allowed for the collection of data that would help in designing later spacecraft.
Then there’s, of course, the aforementioned NASA Space Shuttle, which was in service from 1981 up to 2011. The Shuttle was famously retired without a replacement waiting in the wings, which meant that until 2020 US astronauts had to rely on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft to reach the ISS (International Space Station) until the SpaceX Crew Dragon took over. Making history as the first private crew module and rockets to take humans into space.
Speaking of Russia, the Soviet Buran was a near carbon copy of the Space Shuttle with some fancy tricks like fully automated landing, but it flew only once and was scrapped for much the same reason as NASA ended their shuttle program: cost and complexity. Also, the small matter of the Soviet Union collapsing probably didn’t help.
Sci-Fi Space Planes
In the world of sci-fi, space planes are far more capable than their current real-world counterparts. For one thing, many fictional space planes can take off from a planet’s surface and fly to space with no issue. Star Wars is filled with craft like these, such as the iconic X-Wing or Obi-Wan’s Delta-7B Aethersprite-class light interceptor, which admittedly doesn’t roll off the tongue quite as nicely.
Sometimes sci-fi space planes that don’t have the magic ability of antigravity give a nod to real physics by requiring some sort of helping hand. Though usually not in the form of giant rockets. Instead, you might see some sort of magnetic rail launching system, like a giant version of the ski jump you get on some aircraft carriers.
Related
Is a Space Plane in Your Future?
While manned spaceplanes aren’t in common use right now, there’s always the chance that one day commercial space flight could justify bringing them back in a big way. One potential use is for traveling between locations on Earth. If you think supersonic flight is fast, wait until you fly up into the vacuum of space and really put the pedal to the metal.
The idea is that you’d exit the atmosphere, rapidly fly to the location where you want to be, and then re-enter and land. Then there’s the persistent idea of space tourism, whether you’re talking about an orbiting space hotel, or going for a holiday to the moon base. It could be some sort of future space plane that makes the trip.
Whether the golden age of space planes is ahead of us or not, no one can take away how cool a craft is that can (technically) leave the planet, do awesome stuff in space, and then come right back to where it left from like it’s nothing.
