History Main / SpacePlane

* 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 [[NauseaFuel repeated +1G/-1G shifts in acceleration.]]

* ''Series/{{Stargate}}'''s Goa'uld gliders, human X-302s, and Wraith darts can fly in space and in atmosphere.

* The [[http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Shuttlecraft various shuttlecraft]] of ''Franchise/StarTrek''; [[http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Class_F_shuttlecraft the original shuttle]] met the single-stage to orbit, rocket[[note]]well, maybe; its claimed motive power ... ion engines ... in reality cannot be used as launch engines due to low specific impulse and not working except in vacuum[[/note]] rather than antigravity power, and aerodynamic shape requirements. (The original concept was even more aerodynamic, but the curved hull would have been too expensive to fabricate on the show's budget, resulting in the blockier, more "van-like" shape actually used in the series).

* In the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' universe, shuttlecrafts are able to go from the CoolShip in orbit and land on the PlanetOfHats, and make the trip back, with no outside help when it comes to propulsion. We don't see it often, but they are even [[CasualInterstellarTravel warp-capable]]. The starships themselves tend to spend their entire operational lives in space, but at least the USS ''[[Series/StarTrekVoyager Voyager]]'' can land and take off again without any outside help, though it takes a lot of preparation to do that -- the city-in-space starships really aren't meant for that. (''Voyager'' is sleeker and smaller by that standard; trying it with any version of the ''Enterprise'' never comes up.)

** [[http://www.dougsorbiterpage.com The XR series.]] ([=XR1=] is a just a more sophisticated Delta-glider)

Please note that this list only include SSTO (Single Stage to Orbit) or to sub-orbit to qualify.[[note]]Mid-air refueling or drop tanks may or may not count.[[/note]] Nobody's built one, as of 2017. The most promising design so far is the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reaction_Engines_Skylon Reaction Engines Skylon,]] a British-designed European project, which recently cleared a key hurdle in engine development. Therefore, do not include the following:

** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942}}'': Diana's invisible "robot plane" (called the invisible plane or invisible jet by later writers) was originally a space worthy craft which she used to [[CasualInterplanetaryTravel visit other planets in the solar system]].

* In the later Golden Age Franchise/WonderWoman comics the Amazons of Paradise Island had a small space worthy fleet which took off like airplanes and looked like airplanes which somewhat resembled swans.

* Justified in ''Disney/LiloAndStitch'' 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.

* The ''Kite'' from ''Discworld/TheLastHero'' may or may not count. It uses an external booster to initially achieve orbital velocity (though not to "take off" ... this being [[FlatWorld the Discworld]], it accomplishes that by just ''falling off the edge''), but after discarding the booster, subsequently lands [[spoiler: on Discworld's moon]] and then takes off again before landing back on the Disc. The ''Kite'' is at least the ''second'' vessel to fall off the edge and then return to the Disc, but while the first definitely passed the "no booster" requirement, as a sailing ship it rather failed the "plane" part, and calling its return "landing" is an overgenerous use of the term.

* As mentioned in the "{{Literature}}" section, most ''StarWars'' 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.

* The titular ''Starlight One'' hypersonic sub-orbital passenger liner in the 1983 disaster MadeForTV Movie of the same name, based on experimental NASA spaceplane technology. The "disaster" stuff happens when space debris damages it heat shielding and thruster controls, leaving it stranded in orbit.

* [[Literature/XWingSeries X-Wings and Y-Wings]] don't typically count; they have repulsorlift coils and use them. But ''Starfighters of Adumar'' has a pilot recount the case of another pilot whose craft had been shot up so the repulsorlifts had stopped working, and who had instead approached the cleared landing zone on the local moonbase, dropping his skids as he got close. Wes can tell the story.

* The ''Kite'' from ''Discworld/TheLastHero'' may or may not count. It uses an external booster to initially achieve orbital velocity (though not to "take off" ... this being the Discworld, it accomplishes that by just ''falling off the edge''), but after discarding the booster, subsequently lands [[spoiler: on Discworld's moon]] and then takes off again before landing back on the Disc. The ''Kite'' is at least the ''second'' vessel to fall off the edge and then return to the Disc, but while the first definitely passed the "no booster" requirement, as a sailing ship it rather failed the "plane" part, and calling its return "landing" is an overgenerous use of the term.

* ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'''s Colonial Vipers and Cylon Raiders could fly and fight both in an atmosphere and in a vacuum.

** We do actually see Mk VII Vipers being towed around an airbase in the new ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'', in a flashback set just after the death of Zack Adama. That sequence, plus some close-ups in ''Galactica'''s hangar deck seem to indicate that the skids have some retractable(?) wheels which could be used for a conventional runway take-off and landing. The Raptor, however, would probably count as a single-stage VTOL spaceplane.
* Stargate's Goa'uld gliders, human X-302s, and Wraith darts can fly in space and in atmosphere.

[[folder:Real Life]] (None of these have really [[IncrediblyLamePun gotten off the ground]]... yet.)

* Freelancer's space ships seem fully capable of launching and landing, though gameplay always uses docking rings, presumably for traffic control.

** The sequel has a remarkable case in the Banshee, since it uses rotors to move. Apparently it "[[YouFailPhysicsForever generates its atmosphere]]" while in space.

In essence, a spaceship that can take off ''and'' land like an aircraft, as well as also looking like an aircraft. Many ships have Vertical Take Off Or Landing capabilities; these babies, though, can use a regular runway too.

Saves you the cost of a space launcher that you only use once. The obvious technical issue is that you need a store of liquid oxygen on board for the actual space bit of the journey--as you need something to burn the hydrogen with once the air gets too thin. Another issue is the ability to get to Mach 25, but that's not too hard. Both of these are obviated by the Sci Fi favourite propulsions of fusion torches, antimatter annihilators, reactionless drives and what have you.

Please note that this list only include SSTO (Single Stage to Orbit) or to sub-orbit to qualify. [[note]]Mid-air refuelling or drop tanks may or may not count.[[/note]] Nobody's built one, as of 2017. The most promising design so far is the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reaction_Engines_Skylon Reaction Engines Skylon,]] a British-designed European project, which recently cleared a key hurdle in engine development. Therefore, do not include the following:

* The X-37, which is launched by an Atlas V rocket. It doesn't carry nearly enough fuel - fully loaded, it masses just under 5 metric tons. Compare with the Space Shuttle, which masses ''2,000''.

* Mig-105 (Spiral Project): A Soviet project that was only built in prototype form and never flew in space. Even if it had, it still wouldn't have qualified, since it was to be launched from the back of a never-built hypersonic jet.

* The [[http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Shuttlecraft various shuttlecraft]] of ''Franchise/StarTrek''; [[http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Class_F_shuttlecraft the original shuttle]] met the single-stage to orbit, rocket[[note]]well, maybe; its claimed motive power ... ion engines ... in reality cannot be used as launch engines due to low specific impulse and not working except in vacuum[[//note]] rather than antigravity power, and aerodynamic shape requirements. (The original concept was even more aerodynamic, but the curved hull would have been too expensive to fabricate on the show's budget, resulting in the blockier, more "van-like" shape actually used in the series).
* As mentioned in the "{{Literature}}" section, most ''StarWars'' 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.

* The [[http://www.cultjer.com/img/ug_photo/2014_11/54777520141103173917.jpg Ranger]] SSTO (Single-Stage-To-Orbit) shuttle of ''Film/{{Interstellar}}''. The heavier and larger [[v Lander]] shuttle [[FlyingBrick relies more on thrust alone]] than on aircraft-like characteristics.

* Anything flown by Buster Crabb in either Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers.

* The book Gradisil by Adam Roberts features jet planes being retrofitted to journey into Low Earth Orbit. By riding on electromagnetic fields the planes, over the course of a day or so, can reach orbit. Big planes like a 747 are used to lift private space-habitats into orbit.
* The Polaris Clippers in ''Perigee'' take off horizontally, fly up to space, and use atmospheric bounces known as 'skips' to reach their destination. They make powered landings. They are not designed to fly as Single Stage To Orbit ships - hence the surprise and panic when the ''Austral Clipper'' manages to not be so sub-orbital as was intended. However, Penny Stratton stated that Polaris would never have done an SSTO with a standard Clipper intentionally - the ''Austral Clipper'' exhausts all its fuel reaching orbit because the engines wouldn't shut down.
* The 1950's adventure series by Australian author Ivan Southall featuring AcePilot Simon Black and his supersonic aircraft Firefly. In ''Simon Black in Space'' the Firefly 3 is capable of flight outside the Earth's atmosphere.

* In the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' universe, shuttlecrafts are able to go from the CoolShip in orbit and land on the PlanetOfHats, and make the trip back, with no outside help when it comes to propulsion. We don't see it often, but they are even [[CasualInterstellarTravel warp-capable]]. The starships themselves tend to spend their entire operational lives in space, but at least the USS ''[[Series/StarTrekVoyager Voyager]]'' can land and take off again without any outside help, though it takes a lot of preparation to do that with the city-in-space starships that really aren't meant for that. (Voyager is sleeker and smaller by that standard; trying it with any version of the ''Enterprise'' never comes up.)

* VideoGame/{{Civilization}}: Call to Power has several units that can launch themselves into space. (Including an actual Space Plane unit, and a unit called a SpaceFighter). The Civilization 2: Test of Time Sci-fi game also has several units that can travel into space. (The Shuttle is probably the most obvious example.)
* Several ships in the ''Franchise/MassEffect'' universe - the Normandy [=SR1=] and [=SR2=] can fly in atmosphere, the Kodiak Drop Shuttle and the Mantis Gunship can both transit too, as can starfighters. Though the [[MinovskyPhysics mass effect fields]] they generate make this substantially easier than in real life by reducing their objective mass to almost nothing, allowing them to remain aloft on just a minimum of thrust and achieve orbit without expending enormous amounts of reaction mass.

[[folder:Real Life]] (None of these have really [[IncrediblyLamePun got off the ground]] yet)

* An American educational series involving robots visiting other planets. Help with the show name would be appreciated.

* The ''Kite'' from ''Discworld/TheLastHero'' may or may not count. It uses an external booster to initially achieve orbital velocity (though not to "take off" ... this being the Discworld, it accomplishes that by just ''falling off the edge''), but after discarding the booster, subsequently lands [[spoiler: on Discworld's moon]] and then takes off again before landing back on the Discworld.

* The [[http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Shuttlecraft various shuttlecraft]] of ''Franchise/StarTrek''; [[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.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'':

* In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'', the FF-3/FF-S3 Sword Fish is a multi-use interceptor that functions in high altitude and low orbit. It's successor, the [[TransformingMecha Transformable]] HumongousMecha MSZ-006C4 Zeta plus C4 is a HumongousMecha version of it, and its SuperPrototype, the MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam is basically the real SpacePlane version for both full range aerial and space combat, instead of only specializing in around the atmosphere.

* In ''Film/StarshipTroopers'', [[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 SpacePlane.

* One of the purest examples of this trope is the [[http://www.planet3earth.co.uk/orion_3_spaceplane.htm "Orion III"]] SpacePlane model, which appeared briefly in ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey''.

* VideoGame/{{Civilization}}: Call to Power has several units that can launch themselves into space. (Including an actual SpacePlane unit, and a unit called a SpaceFighter). The Civilization 2: Test of Time Sci-fi game also has several units that can travel into space. (The Shuttle is probably the most obvious example.)

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockwell_X-30 X-30]] "National Aerospace Plane", which was never built. A smaller version, the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_X-43 X-43]], reached a maximum speed of nearly Mach 10 using a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pegasus_rocket Pegasus missile]] as a booster. Keep in mind that to be a true SpacePlane, an aircraft would need to reach somewhere around Mach 25, depending on what altitude you were at, ''without'' a booster.

* You can try to build one in ''VideoGame/KerbalSpaceProgram'', once you're tired of old-fashioned rockets. It's not easy by any means.
** Made [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cQz09CRjBE easier]] in the 0.23 update with the RAPIER hybrid jet/rocket engine (based on the Skylon's SABRE engine), and with 0.25 making the Spaceplane Plus mod [[OfficialFanSubmittedContent official content]]

* The Arwings of the ''StarFox'' series have been shown to operate both within the atmosphere of a planet as well as the vacuum of space. In ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures'' Fox's Arwing had [=VTOL=] capabilities.

Saves you the cost of a space launcher that you only use once. The obvious technical issue is that you need a store of liquid oxygen on board for the actual space bit of the journey--as you need something to burn the hydrogen with once the air gets too thin. Another issue is the ability to get to Mach 25, but that's not too hard. Both of these obviated by the Sci Fi favourite propulsions of fusion torches, antimatter annihilators, reactionless drives and what have you.

* The Space Shuttle, which requires two boosters, a launch pad and a huge fuel tank to get into orbit. It is also incapable of any real powered flight, having to glide back to Earth. It pretty much defines the term 'FlyingBrick'.

* The X-37, which is launched by an Atlas V 501. It doesn't carry nearly enough fuel - fully loaded, it masses just under 5 metric tons. Compare with the Space Shuttle, which masses ''2,000''.

* Mig-105 (Spiral Project): Only test vehicle exist. In any case, it is a two-stage-to-orbit, require a hypersonic air launcher the size of a XB-70 which was never built.