Space Plane: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
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* Buran, the Soviet equivalent, which used a single powerful rocket to get into orbit, rather than relying on its own power.
* Craft such as X-15 and SpaceShipOne that require another aircraft to get them to a launching height.
* The X-37, which is launched by an Atlas V 501. It doesn't carry nearly enough
The spaceplane ''must'' be single-stage-to-orbit or sub-orbit to qualify. Nobody's built one, as of June 2011.
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== [[Anime]] & [[Manga]] ==
* The Gekko-Go of ''[[Eureka Seven]]'' is a large aircraft that is capable of entering low orbit for quick trans-globe travel.
* The ''[[Macross]]'' franchise is the king of this trope, featuring space planes that are also [[Transforming Mecha]]
** [[Macross Frontier|Alto and Michel]] demonstrate the same again when escaping from Gallia IV
* In ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam]]'', the FF-3/FF-S3 Sword Fish is a multi-use interceptor that functions in high altitude and low orbit. It's successor, the [[Trasforming Mecha|Transformable]] [[Humongous Mecha]] MSZ-006C4 Zeta plus C4 is a [[Humongous Mecha]] version of it, and its [[Super Prototype]], the MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam is basically the real
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* The [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Shuttlecraft various shuttlecraft] of ''[[Star Trek]]'', though whether they meet the definition of this trope might be [[Your Mileage May Vary|a matter of opinion]]; [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Class_F_shuttlecraft the original shuttle] met the single - stage to orbit, rocket rather than antigravity power, and aerodynamic shape requirements.
* As mentioned in the "[[Literature]]" section, most ''[[Star Wars]]'' space - capable vehicles smaller than about 200 meters are able to land on planets, but this is due to repulsorlift engines rather than conventional aircraft design. The shape of Naboo [http://www.iaw.on.ca/~btaylor1/NabooN1fighter.html space fighters] and [http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/H-type_Nubian_yacht space yachts], however, appear very similar to jet aircraft.
* In ''[[Starship Troopers]]'', [http://starshiptroopers.wikia.com/wiki/Dropship_%28films%29 dropships] pick up the title characters. It's not clear how they get from surface to space, but they do look and act like a
* One of the purest examples of this trope is the "[http://www.planet3earth.co.uk/orion_3_spaceplane.htm Orion III]"
* The ''Valkyrie'' shuttles from ''[[Avatar (film)|Avatar]]''.
* Justified in ''[[Lilo and Stitch]]'' where Jumba's spaceship is actually based on the very passenger jet he, Pleakley, Nani, and Stitch were going to steal and use it to rescue Lilo from Gantu, which was changed due to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
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== [[Real Life]] ==
Sort of - none of these have really [[Incredibly Lame Pun|got off the ground]] yet.
* The Silbervogel design from [[Stupid Jetpack Hitler|Nazi Germany]].
* The British HOTOL (Horizontal Take Off Or Landing) project, cancelled in 1988 after development problems.
* The European Space Agency [http://www.reactionengines.co.uk/skylon.html Skylon] project, pictured above.
* [[wikipedia:Rockwell X-30|X-30]] "National Aerospace Plane", which was never built. A smaller version, the [[wikipedia:NASA X-43|X-43]], reached a maximum speed of nearly Mach 10 using a [[wikipedia:Pegasus rocket|Pegasus missile]] as a booster. Keep in mind that to be a true
* The XCOR [[wikipedia:Lynx rocketplane|Lynx]] rocketplane. It will only be able to reach Mach 2 or 3, however, and will be limited to brief, sub-orbital spaceflight only.
* There are several proposed designs which use a magnetic launch system to achieve the necessary launch velocity. Naturally none have been built due to cost; it could also be argued that any craft launched by such a system would not be a true space-plane, since it wouldn't be taking off under its own power.
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== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* In ''[[BattleTech]]'', there are Aerospace fighters which can act as normal fighter aircraft or fighter aircraft [[In Space]] at the discretion of the mothership, at least some of which are capable of surface - to - space flight, winged shuttlecraft, and Aerodyne Dropships, which are able to land as a
* In ''[[Warhammer 40000|Warhammer 40,000]]'', the Imperial Navy's aircraft - by which I mean fighters and bombers designed primarily to operate in an atmosphere - are ''technically'' spaceplanes, as they can be launched off an Imperial Navy starship in orbit and can reach that starship from ground airbases once the fighting's over. In something of a subversion, the Imperial Navy's starfighters - like the Fury - are altogether much larger than standard aircraft and have a crew of around three, and while they can operate in an atmosphere it's not recommended because they're not designed for it.
* Many small craft and even Starships in ''[[Traveller]]'' are capable of this. Not all, particularly the biggest which is why the largest starports tend to have orbital facilities.
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* ''Battlecruiser 3000 AD'' shuttles are capable of atmosphere to space and back.
* Starting with ''[[Wing Commander (video game)|Wing Commander]] III'', some fighters are explicitly said to be capable of flying and fighting in an atmosphere, while others aren't.
* ''[[Civilization]]: Call to Power'' has several units that can launch themselves into space. (Including an actual
* Several ships in the ''[[Mass Effect]]'' universe - the Normandy SR1 can fly in atmosphere, the Kodiak Drop Shuttle and the Viper gunship can both transit too, as can starfighters.
* In ''[[Final Fantasy VIII]]'', you get one of those in place of a [[Global Airship]]. It's called Ragnarok.
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