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Space Plane (view source)

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Usually an example of the [[Cool Plane]]. See also: [[Space Fighter]].
 
{{examples|Examples:}}
 
== [[Anime]] & [[Manga]] ==
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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_<!-- 28films29%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 SpacePlane.[[Space -->Plane]].
* One of the purest examples of this trope is the "[http://www.planet3earth.co.uk/orion_3_spaceplane.htm Orion III]" [[Space Plane]] model, which appeared briefly in ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey]]''.
* The ''Valkyrie'' shuttles from ''[[Avatar (Film)|Avatar]]''.
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* 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.
* [http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockwell_X:Rockwell X-30 |X-30]] "National Aerospace Plane", which was never built. A smaller version, the [http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_X:NASA X-43 |X-43]], reached a maximum speed of nearly Mach 10 using a [http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/Pegasus_rocket:Pegasus rocket|Pegasus missile]] as a booster. Keep in mind that to be a true [[Space Plane]], an aircraft would need to reach somewhere around Mach 25, depending on what altitude you were at, ''without'' a booster.
* The XCOR [http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynx_rocketplane: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.
* The Hypersoar was a commercial airliner project that would fly to the edge of space and skip across the atmosphere, making it extremely fast and thrifty with fuel while avoiding the Concorde's noise problems. It was quickly shelved when it was realized the skipping effect couldn't be done effectively without [[Nausea Fuel|repeated +1G/-1G shifts in acceleration.]]
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