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class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Orbit</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Orbit-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Speed,_range,_and_altitude" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Speed,_range,_and_altitude"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Speed, range, and altitude</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Speed,_range,_and_altitude-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Flight_duration" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Flight_duration"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Flight duration</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Flight_duration-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Flight_profiles" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Flight_profiles"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>Flight profiles</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Flight_profiles-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Flight profiles subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Flight_profiles-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Ballistic_missiles" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Ballistic_missiles"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5.1</span> <span>Ballistic missiles</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Ballistic_missiles-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Tourist_flights" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Tourist_flights"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5.2</span> <span>Tourist flights</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Tourist_flights-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Scientific_experiments" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Scientific_experiments"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5.3</span> <span>Scientific experiments</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Scientific_experiments-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Sub-orbital_transportation" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Sub-orbital_transportation"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5.4</span> <span>Sub-orbital transportation</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Sub-orbital_transportation-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Notable_uncrewed_sub-orbital_spaceflights" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Notable_uncrewed_sub-orbital_spaceflights"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>Notable uncrewed sub-orbital spaceflights</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Notable_uncrewed_sub-orbital_spaceflights-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Crewed_sub-orbital_spaceflights" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Crewed_sub-orbital_spaceflights"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>Crewed sub-orbital spaceflights</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Crewed_sub-orbital_spaceflights-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Future_of_crewed_sub-orbital_spaceflight" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Future_of_crewed_sub-orbital_spaceflight"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8</span> <span>Future of crewed sub-orbital spaceflight</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Future_of_crewed_sub-orbital_spaceflight-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Suborbital_spaceflight_projects" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Suborbital_spaceflight_projects"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9</span> <span>Suborbital spaceflight projects</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Suborbital_spaceflight_projects-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">10</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">11</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Sub-orbital spaceflight</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 34 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-34" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">34 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B1%D8%AD%D9%84%D8%A9_%D9%81%D8%B6%D8%A7%D8%A1_%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%86_%D9%85%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9" title="رحلة فضاء دون مدارية – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="رحلة فضاء دون مدارية" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ast mw-list-item"><a href="https://ast.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vuelu_suborbital" title="Vuelu suborbital – Asturian" lang="ast" hreflang="ast" data-title="Vuelu suborbital" data-language-autonym="Asturianu" data-language-local-name="Asturian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Asturianu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-be mw-list-item"><a href="https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D1%83%D0%B1%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B1%D1%96%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BD%D1%8B_%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%BC%D1%96%D1%87%D0%BD%D1%8B_%D0%BF%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%91%D1%82" title="Субарбітальны касмічны палёт – Belarusian" lang="be" hreflang="be" data-title="Субарбітальны касмічны палёт" data-language-autonym="Беларуская" data-language-local-name="Belarusian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Беларуская</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bg mw-list-item"><a href="https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D1%83%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B1%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD_%D0%BA%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8_%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B5%D1%82" title="Суборбитален космически полет – Bulgarian" lang="bg" hreflang="bg" data-title="Суборбитален космически полет" data-language-autonym="Български" data-language-local-name="Bulgarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Български</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vol_espacial_suborbital" title="Vol espacial suborbital – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Vol espacial suborbital" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Català</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cv mw-list-item"><a href="https://cv.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D1%83%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B1%D0%B8%D1%82%D3%91%D0%BB%D0%BB%D0%B0_%D0%BA%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BC%D0%BE%D1%81_%D0%B2%D3%97%D2%AB%D0%B5%D0%B2%D3%97" title="Суборбитӑлла космос вӗҫевӗ – Chuvash" lang="cv" hreflang="cv" data-title="Суборбитӑлла космос вӗҫевӗ" data-language-autonym="Чӑвашла" data-language-local-name="Chuvash" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Чӑвашла</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cs mw-list-item"><a href="https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suborbit%C3%A1ln%C3%AD_kosmick%C3%BD_let" title="Suborbitální kosmický let – Czech" lang="cs" hreflang="cs" data-title="Suborbitální kosmický let" data-language-autonym="Čeština" data-language-local-name="Czech" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Čeština</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suborbitaler_Flug" title="Suborbitaler Flug – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Suborbitaler Flug" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vuelo_suborbital" title="Vuelo suborbital – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Vuelo suborbital" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eo mw-list-item"><a href="https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suborbita_flugo" title="Suborbita flugo – Esperanto" lang="eo" hreflang="eo" data-title="Suborbita flugo" data-language-autonym="Esperanto" data-language-local-name="Esperanto" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Esperanto</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eu mw-list-item"><a href="https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hegaldi_azpiorbital" title="Hegaldi azpiorbital – Basque" lang="eu" hreflang="eu" data-title="Hegaldi azpiorbital" data-language-autonym="Euskara" data-language-local-name="Basque" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Euskara</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%BE%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B2_%D8%B2%DB%8C%D8%B1_%D9%85%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C" title="پرواز زیر مداری – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="پرواز زیر مداری" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vol_suborbital" title="Vol suborbital – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Vol suborbital" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%A4%80%EA%B6%A4%EB%8F%84_%EC%9A%B0%EC%A3%BC_%EB%B9%84%ED%96%89" title="준궤도 우주 비행 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="준궤도 우주 비행" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hr mw-list-item"><a href="https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podorbitalni_let" title="Podorbitalni let – Croatian" lang="hr" hreflang="hr" data-title="Podorbitalni let" data-language-autonym="Hrvatski" data-language-local-name="Croatian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Hrvatski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-id mw-list-item"><a href="https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penerbangan_antariksa_suborbital" title="Penerbangan antariksa suborbital – Indonesian" lang="id" hreflang="id" data-title="Penerbangan antariksa suborbital" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Indonesia" data-language-local-name="Indonesian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Indonesia</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volo_suborbitale" title="Volo suborbitale – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Volo suborbitale" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-he mw-list-item"><a href="https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%98%D7%99%D7%A1%D7%94_%D7%AA%D7%AA-%D7%9E%D7%A1%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%AA" title="טיסה תת-מסלולית – Hebrew" lang="he" hreflang="he" data-title="טיסה תת-מסלולית" data-language-autonym="עברית" data-language-local-name="Hebrew" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>עברית</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-lb mw-list-item"><a href="https://lb.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suborbitale_Raumfluch" title="Suborbitale Raumfluch – Luxembourgish" lang="lb" hreflang="lb" data-title="Suborbitale Raumfluch" data-language-autonym="Lëtzebuergesch" data-language-local-name="Luxembourgish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Lëtzebuergesch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hu mw-list-item"><a href="https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%B0rugr%C3%A1s" title="Űrugrás – Hungarian" lang="hu" hreflang="hu" data-title="Űrugrás" data-language-autonym="Magyar" data-language-local-name="Hungarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Magyar</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suborbitale_ruimtevlucht" title="Suborbitale ruimtevlucht – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="Suborbitale ruimtevlucht" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" data-language-local-name="Dutch" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Nederlands</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%BC%BE%E9%81%93%E9%A3%9B%E8%A1%8C" title="弾道飛行 – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="弾道飛行" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lot_suborbitalny" title="Lot suborbitalny – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Lot suborbitalny" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voo_suborbital" title="Voo suborbital – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Voo suborbital" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D1%83%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B1%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D0%BA%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%91%D1%82" title="Суборбитальный космический полёт – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Суборбитальный космический полёт" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-simple mw-list-item"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sub-orbital_spaceflight" title="Sub-orbital spaceflight – Simple English" lang="en-simple" hreflang="en-simple" data-title="Sub-orbital spaceflight" data-language-autonym="Simple English" data-language-local-name="Simple English" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Simple English</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sk mw-list-item"><a href="https://sk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suborbit%C3%A1lny_kozmick%C3%BD_let" title="Suborbitálny kozmický let – Slovak" lang="sk" hreflang="sk" data-title="Suborbitálny kozmický let" data-language-autonym="Slovenčina" data-language-local-name="Slovak" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Slovenčina</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ckb mw-list-item"><a href="https://ckb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%81%DA%95%DB%8C%D9%86%DB%8C_%D8%A8%DB%86%D8%B4%D8%A7%DB%8C%DB%8C%DB%8C_%DA%98%DB%8E%D8%B1%D8%AE%D9%88%D9%84%DA%AF%DB%95%DB%8C%DB%8C" title="فڕینی بۆشاییی ژێرخولگەیی – Central Kurdish" lang="ckb" hreflang="ckb" data-title="فڕینی بۆشاییی ژێرخولگەیی" data-language-autonym="کوردی" data-language-local-name="Central Kurdish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>کوردی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sh mw-list-item"><a href="https://sh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suborbitalni_let" title="Suborbitalni let – Serbo-Croatian" lang="sh" hreflang="sh" data-title="Suborbitalni let" data-language-autonym="Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски" data-language-local-name="Serbo-Croatian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sv mw-list-item"><a href="https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kastbanef%C3%A4rd" title="Kastbanefärd – Swedish" lang="sv" hreflang="sv" data-title="Kastbanefärd" data-language-autonym="Svenska" data-language-local-name="Swedish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Svenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tt mw-list-item"><a href="https://tt.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D1%83%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B1%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8C_%D0%BA%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BC%D0%B8%D0%BA_%D0%BE%D1%87%D1%8B%D1%88" title="Суборбиталь космик очыш – Tatar" lang="tt" hreflang="tt" data-title="Суборбиталь космик очыш" data-language-autonym="Татарча / tatarça" data-language-local-name="Tatar" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Татарча / tatarça</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uk mw-list-item"><a href="https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D1%83%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B1%D1%96%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%BA%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BC%D1%96%D1%87%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%96%D1%82" title="Суборбітальний космічний політ – Ukrainian" lang="uk" hreflang="uk" data-title="Суборбітальний космічний політ" data-language-autonym="Українська" data-language-local-name="Ukrainian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Українська</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-vi mw-list-item"><a href="https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Du_h%C3%A0nh_d%C6%B0%E1%BB%9Bi_qu%E1%BB%B9_%C4%91%E1%BA%A1o" title="Du hành dưới quỹ đạo – Vietnamese" lang="vi" hreflang="vi" data-title="Du hành dưới quỹ đạo" data-language-autonym="Tiếng Việt" data-language-local-name="Vietnamese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Tiếng Việt</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh 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poster="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/01/Riding_on_a_Sounding_Rocket.webm/220px--Riding_on_a_Sounding_Rocket.webm.jpg" controls="" preload="none" data-mw-tmh="" class="mw-file-element" width="220" height="124" data-durationhint="270" data-mwtitle="Riding_on_a_Sounding_Rocket.webm" data-mwprovider="wikimediacommons" resource="/wiki/File:Riding_on_a_Sounding_Rocket.webm"><source src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/01/Riding_on_a_Sounding_Rocket.webm/Riding_on_a_Sounding_Rocket.webm.480p.vp9.webm" type="video/webm; codecs="vp9, opus"" data-transcodekey="480p.vp9.webm" data-width="854" data-height="480" /><source src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Riding_on_a_Sounding_Rocket.webm" type="video/webm; codecs="vp8, opus"" data-width="1280" data-height="720" /><source src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/01/Riding_on_a_Sounding_Rocket.webm/Riding_on_a_Sounding_Rocket.webm.720p.vp9.webm" type="video/webm; codecs="vp9, opus"" data-transcodekey="720p.vp9.webm" data-width="1280" data-height="720" /><source src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/01/Riding_on_a_Sounding_Rocket.webm/Riding_on_a_Sounding_Rocket.webm.240p.vp9.webm" type="video/webm; codecs="vp9, opus"" data-transcodekey="240p.vp9.webm" data-width="426" data-height="240" /><source src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/01/Riding_on_a_Sounding_Rocket.webm/Riding_on_a_Sounding_Rocket.webm.360p.vp9.webm" type="video/webm; codecs="vp9, opus"" data-transcodekey="360p.vp9.webm" data-width="640" data-height="360" /><source src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/01/Riding_on_a_Sounding_Rocket.webm/Riding_on_a_Sounding_Rocket.webm.360p.webm" type="video/webm; codecs="vp8, vorbis"" data-transcodekey="360p.webm" data-width="640" data-height="360" /></video></span><figcaption>Video of sub-orbital spaceflight of <a href="/wiki/Black_Brant_IX" class="mw-redirect" title="Black Brant IX">Black Brant IX</a> sounding rocket</figcaption></figure> <table class="wikitable floatright" style="text-align:center;"> <caption>Sub-orbital human spaceflight (<a href="/wiki/F%C3%A9d%C3%A9ration_A%C3%A9ronautique_Internationale" title="Fédération Aéronautique Internationale">FAI</a>-defined <a href="/wiki/Space_border" class="mw-redirect" title="Space border">space border</a>) </caption> <tbody><tr> <th>Name</th> <th>Year</th> <th>Flights</th> <th>Location </th></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Mercury-Redstone_3" title="Mercury-Redstone 3">Mercury-Redstone 3</a> <br /> <a href="/wiki/Mercury-Redstone_4" title="Mercury-Redstone 4">Mercury-Redstone 4</a></td> <td>1961</td> <td>2</td> <td><a href="/wiki/Cape_Canaveral" title="Cape Canaveral">Cape Canaveral</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/X-15_Flight_90" title="X-15 Flight 90">X-15 Flight 90</a> <br /> <a href="/wiki/X-15_Flight_91" title="X-15 Flight 91">X-15 Flight 91</a></td> <td>1963</td> <td>2</td> <td><a href="/wiki/Edwards_AFB" class="mw-redirect" title="Edwards AFB">Edwards AFB</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Soyuz_18a" class="mw-redirect" title="Soyuz 18a">Soyuz 18a</a></td> <td>1975</td> <td>1</td> <td><a href="/wiki/Baikonur_Cosmodrome" title="Baikonur Cosmodrome">Baikonur Cosmodrome</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/SpaceShipOne_flight_15P" title="SpaceShipOne flight 15P">SpaceShipOne Flight 15P</a><br /> <a href="/wiki/SpaceShipOne_flight_16P" title="SpaceShipOne flight 16P">SpaceShipOne Flight 16P</a><br /> <a href="/wiki/SpaceShipOne_flight_17P" title="SpaceShipOne flight 17P">SpaceShipOne Flight 17P</a></td> <td>2004</td> <td>3</td> <td><a href="/wiki/Mojave_Air_and_Space_Port" title="Mojave Air and Space Port">Mojave Air and Space Port</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Blue_Origin_NS-16" title="Blue Origin NS-16">Blue Origin NS-16</a><sup id="cite_ref-sn20210720_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-sn20210720-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><br /> <a href="/wiki/Blue_Origin_NS-18" title="Blue Origin NS-18">Blue Origin NS-18</a><br /> <a href="/wiki/Blue_Origin_NS-19" title="Blue Origin NS-19">Blue Origin NS-19</a></td> <td>2021</td> <td>3</td> <td rowspan="3"><a href="/wiki/Corn_Ranch" title="Corn Ranch">Corn Ranch</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Blue_Origin_NS-20" title="Blue Origin NS-20">Blue Origin NS-20</a><br /> <a href="/wiki/Blue_Origin_NS-21" title="Blue Origin NS-21">Blue Origin NS-21</a> <p><a href="/wiki/Blue_Origin_NS-22" title="Blue Origin NS-22">Blue Origin NS-22</a> </p> </td> <td>2022</td> <td>3 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Blue_Origin_NS-25" title="Blue Origin NS-25">Blue Origin NS-25</a><br /> <a href="/wiki/Blue_Origin_NS-26" title="Blue Origin NS-26">Blue Origin NS-26</a> </td> <td>2024 </td> <td>2 </td></tr></tbody></table> <table class="wikitable floatright" style="text-align:center;"> <caption>Sub-orbital human spaceflight (United States-defined <a href="/wiki/Space_border" class="mw-redirect" title="Space border">space border</a>; excluding those above) </caption> <tbody><tr> <th>Name</th> <th>Year</th> <th>Flights</th> <th>Location </th></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/X-15_Flight_62" title="X-15 Flight 62">X-15 Flight 62</a></td> <td>1962</td> <td>1</td> <td rowspan="6"><a href="/wiki/Edwards_AFB" class="mw-redirect" title="Edwards AFB">Edwards AFB</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/North_American_X-15#Highest_flights" title="North American X-15">X-15 Flight 77</a> <br /> <a href="/wiki/X-15_Flight_87" title="X-15 Flight 87">X-15 Flight 87</a></td> <td>1963</td> <td>2 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/North_American_X-15#Highest_flights" title="North American X-15">X-15 Flight 138</a> <br /> <a href="/wiki/North_American_X-15#Highest_flights" title="North American X-15">X-15 Flight 143</a> <br /> <a href="/wiki/North_American_X-15#Highest_flights" title="North American X-15">X-15 Flight 150</a> <br /> <a href="/wiki/North_American_X-15#Highest_flights" title="North American X-15">X-15 Flight 153</a></td> <td>1965</td> <td>4 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/North_American_X-15#Highest_flights" title="North American X-15">X-15 Flight 174</a></td> <td>1966</td> <td>1 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/North_American_X-15#Highest_flights" title="North American X-15">X-15 Flight 190</a> <br /> <a href="/wiki/X-15_Flight_3-65-97" title="X-15 Flight 3-65-97">X-15 Flight 191</a></td> <td>1967</td> <td>2 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/North_American_X-15#Highest_flights" title="North American X-15">X-15 Flight 197</a></td> <td>1968</td> <td>1 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Soyuz_MS-10" title="Soyuz MS-10">Soyuz MS-10</a></td> <td>2018</td> <td>1</td> <td><a href="/wiki/Baikonur_Cosmodrome" title="Baikonur Cosmodrome">Baikonur Cosmodrome</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/VSS_Unity_VP-03" title="VSS Unity VP-03">VSS <i>Unity</i> VP-03</a></td> <td>2018</td> <td>1</td> <td rowspan="2"><a href="/wiki/Mojave_Air_and_Space_Port" title="Mojave Air and Space Port">Mojave Air and Space Port</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/VSS_Unity_VF-01" title="VSS Unity VF-01">VSS <i>Unity</i> VF-01</a></td> <td>2019</td> <td>1 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/VSS_Unity_Unity21" class="mw-redirect" title="VSS Unity Unity21">VSS <i>Unity</i> Unity21</a><br /><a href="/wiki/Virgin_Galactic_Unity_22" title="Virgin Galactic Unity 22">VSS <i>Unity</i> Unity22</a> </td> <td>2021 </td> <td>2 </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Spaceport_America" title="Spaceport America">Spaceport America</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Virgin_Galactic_Unity_25" title="Virgin Galactic Unity 25">VSS <i>Unity</i> Unity25</a><br /><a href="/wiki/Galactic_01" title="Galactic 01">Galactic 01</a><br /><a href="/wiki/Galactic_02" title="Galactic 02">Galactic 02</a><br /><a href="/wiki/Galactic_03" title="Galactic 03">Galactic 03</a><br /><a href="/wiki/Galactic_04" title="Galactic 04">Galactic 04</a><br /><a href="/wiki/Galactic_05" title="Galactic 05">Galactic 05</a> </td> <td>2023 </td> <td>6 </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Spaceport_America" title="Spaceport America">Spaceport America</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Galactic_06" title="Galactic 06">Galactic 06</a><br /><a href="/wiki/Galactic_07" title="Galactic 07">Galactic 07</a> </td> <td>2024 </td> <td>2 </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Spaceport_America" title="Spaceport America">Spaceport America</a> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>A <b>sub-orbital spaceflight</b> is a <a href="/wiki/Spaceflight" title="Spaceflight">spaceflight</a> in which the <a href="/wiki/Spacecraft" title="Spacecraft">spacecraft</a> reaches <a href="/wiki/Outer_space" title="Outer space">outer space</a>, but its <a href="/wiki/Trajectory" title="Trajectory">trajectory</a> intersects the surface of the <a href="/wiki/Primary_(astronomy)" class="mw-redirect" title="Primary (astronomy)">gravitating body</a> from which it was launched. Hence, it will not complete one <a href="/wiki/Orbit" title="Orbit">orbital</a> revolution, will not become an <a href="/wiki/Artificial_satellite" class="mw-redirect" title="Artificial satellite">artificial satellite</a> nor will it reach <a href="/wiki/Escape_velocity" title="Escape velocity">escape velocity</a>. </p><p>For example, the path of an object launched from <a href="/wiki/Earth" title="Earth">Earth</a> that reaches the <a href="/wiki/K%C3%A1rm%C3%A1n_line" title="Kármán line">Kármán line</a> (about 83 km [52 mi] – 100 km [62 mi]<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> above <a href="/wiki/Sea_level" title="Sea level">sea level</a>), and then falls back to Earth, is considered a sub-orbital spaceflight. Some sub-orbital flights have been undertaken to test spacecraft and <a href="/wiki/Launch_vehicle" title="Launch vehicle">launch vehicles</a> later intended for <a href="/wiki/Orbital_spaceflight" title="Orbital spaceflight">orbital spaceflight</a>. Other vehicles are specifically designed only for sub-orbital flight; examples include crewed vehicles, such as the <a href="/wiki/North_American_X-15" title="North American X-15">X-15</a> and <a href="/wiki/SpaceShipTwo" title="SpaceShipTwo">SpaceShipTwo</a>, and uncrewed ones, such as <a href="/wiki/Intercontinental_ballistic_missile" title="Intercontinental ballistic missile">ICBMs</a> and <a href="/wiki/Sounding_rocket" title="Sounding rocket">sounding rockets</a>. </p><p>Flights which attain sufficient velocity to go into <a href="/wiki/Low_Earth_orbit" title="Low Earth orbit">low Earth orbit</a>, and then <a href="/wiki/De-orbit" class="mw-redirect" title="De-orbit">de-orbit</a> before completing their first full orbit, are not considered sub-orbital. Examples of this include flights of the <a href="/wiki/Fractional_Orbital_Bombardment_System" title="Fractional Orbital Bombardment System">Fractional Orbital Bombardment System</a>. </p><p>A flight that does not reach space is still sometimes called sub-orbital, but cannot officially be classified as a "sub-orbital spaceflight". Usually a rocket is used, but some experimental sub-orbital spaceflights have also been achieved via the use of <a href="/wiki/Space_gun" title="Space gun">space guns</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Altitude_requirement">Altitude requirement</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sub-orbital_spaceflight&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Altitude requirement"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Newton_Cannon.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/73/Newton_Cannon.svg/220px-Newton_Cannon.svg.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="220" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/73/Newton_Cannon.svg/330px-Newton_Cannon.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/73/Newton_Cannon.svg/440px-Newton_Cannon.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="240" data-file-height="240" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Newton%27s_cannonball" title="Newton's cannonball">Isaac Newton's Cannonball</a>. Paths A and B depict a sub-orbital trajectory.</figcaption></figure> <p>By definition, a sub-orbital spaceflight reaches an <a href="/wiki/Altitude" title="Altitude">altitude</a> higher than 100 km (62 mi) above <a href="/wiki/Sea_level" title="Sea level">sea level</a>. This altitude, known as the Kármán line, was chosen by the <a href="/wiki/F%C3%A9d%C3%A9ration_A%C3%A9ronautique_Internationale" title="Fédération Aéronautique Internationale">Fédération Aéronautique Internationale</a> because it is roughly the point where a vehicle flying fast enough to support itself with <a href="/wiki/Aerodynamic_lift" class="mw-redirect" title="Aerodynamic lift">aerodynamic lift</a> from the <a href="/wiki/Earth%27s_atmosphere" class="mw-redirect" title="Earth's atmosphere">Earth's atmosphere</a> would be flying faster than <a href="/wiki/Orbital_speed" title="Orbital speed">orbital speed</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The US military and <a href="/wiki/NASA" title="NASA">NASA</a> award <a href="/wiki/Astronaut_Badge" class="mw-redirect" title="Astronaut Badge">astronaut wings</a> to those flying above 50 mi (80 km),<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> although the <a href="/wiki/U.S._State_Department" class="mw-redirect" title="U.S. State Department">U.S. State Department</a> does not show a distinct boundary between atmospheric flight and <a href="/wiki/Spaceflight" title="Spaceflight">spaceflight</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Orbit">Orbit</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sub-orbital_spaceflight&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Orbit"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>During <a href="/wiki/Freefall" class="mw-redirect" title="Freefall">freefall</a> the trajectory is part of an <a href="/wiki/Elliptic_orbit" title="Elliptic orbit">elliptic orbit</a> as given by the <a href="/wiki/Orbit_equation" title="Orbit equation">orbit equation</a>. The <a href="/wiki/Perigee" class="mw-redirect" title="Perigee">perigee</a> distance is less than the <a href="/wiki/Radius_of_the_Earth" class="mw-redirect" title="Radius of the Earth">radius of the Earth</a> <i>R</i> including atmosphere, hence the <a href="/wiki/Ellipse" title="Ellipse">ellipse</a> intersects the Earth, and hence the spacecraft will fail to complete an orbit. The major axis is vertical, the <a href="/wiki/Semi-major_axis" class="mw-redirect" title="Semi-major axis">semi-major axis</a> <i>a</i> is more than <i>R</i>/2. The <a href="/wiki/Specific_orbital_energy" title="Specific orbital energy">specific orbital energy</a> <span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle \epsilon }"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mi>ϵ</mi> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle \epsilon }</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/c3837cad72483d97bcdde49c85d3b7b859fb3fd2" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -0.338ex; width:0.944ex; height:1.676ex;" alt="{\displaystyle \epsilon }"></span> is given by: </p><p><span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-display mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math display="block" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle \varepsilon =-{\mu \over {2a}}>-{\mu \over {R}}\,\!}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mi>ε</mi> <mo>=</mo> <mo>−</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mi>μ</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mn>2</mn> <mi>a</mi> </mrow> </mfrac> </mrow> <mo>></mo> <mo>−</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mi>μ</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mi>R</mi> </mrow> </mfrac> </mrow> <mspace width="thinmathspace" /> <mspace width="negativethinmathspace" /> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle \varepsilon =-{\mu \over {2a}}>-{\mu \over {R}}\,\!}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/e3f08729d989b17c2d231a4fec25d9e9e7e50aa2" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-display mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -2.005ex; margin-right: -0.387ex; width:17.112ex; height:5.009ex;" alt="{\displaystyle \varepsilon =-{\mu \over {2a}}>-{\mu \over {R}}\,\!}"></span> </p><p>where <span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle \mu \,\!}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mi>μ</mi> <mspace width="thinmathspace" /> <mspace width="negativethinmathspace" /> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle \mu \,\!}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/8a66ee9ba05f9085943a89364f6c674143a1881f" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -0.838ex; margin-right: -0.387ex; width:1.789ex; height:2.176ex;" alt="{\displaystyle \mu \,\!}"></span> is the <a href="/wiki/Standard_gravitational_parameter" title="Standard gravitational parameter">standard gravitational parameter</a>. </p><p>Almost always <i>a</i> < <i>R</i>, corresponding to a lower <span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle \epsilon }"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mi>ϵ</mi> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle \epsilon }</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/c3837cad72483d97bcdde49c85d3b7b859fb3fd2" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -0.338ex; width:0.944ex; height:1.676ex;" alt="{\displaystyle \epsilon }"></span> than the minimum for a full orbit, which is <span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle -{\mu \over {2R}}\,\!}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mo>−</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mi>μ</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mn>2</mn> <mi>R</mi> </mrow> </mfrac> </mrow> <mspace width="thinmathspace" /> <mspace width="negativethinmathspace" /> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle -{\mu \over {2R}}\,\!}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/ab5e693480846c2fca6313371f94745536dbddf5" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -2.005ex; margin-right: -0.387ex; width:5.958ex; height:5.009ex;" alt="{\displaystyle -{\mu \over {2R}}\,\!}"></span> </p><p>Thus the net extra specific energy needed compared to just raising the spacecraft into space is between 0 and <span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle \mu \over {2R}\,\!}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mi>μ</mi> </mstyle> <mrow> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mn>2</mn> <mi>R</mi> </mrow> <mspace width="thinmathspace" /> <mspace width="negativethinmathspace" /> </mrow> </mfrac> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle \mu \over {2R}\,\!}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/384ef4d320e3136dd02eb8b4c472af6b2431152e" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -2.005ex; width:3.763ex; height:5.009ex;" alt="{\displaystyle \mu \over {2R}\,\!}"></span>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Speed,_range,_and_altitude"><span id="Speed.2C_range.2C_and_altitude"></span>Speed, range, and altitude</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sub-orbital_spaceflight&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Speed, range, and altitude"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>To minimize the required <a href="/wiki/Delta-v" title="Delta-v">delta-v</a> (an <a href="/wiki/Astrodynamics" class="mw-redirect" title="Astrodynamics">astrodynamical</a> measure which strongly determines the required <a href="/wiki/Fuel" title="Fuel">fuel</a>), the high-altitude part of the flight is made with the <a href="/wiki/Rocket" title="Rocket">rockets</a> off (this is technically called free-fall even for the upward part of the trajectory). (Compare with <a href="/wiki/Oberth_effect" title="Oberth effect">Oberth effect</a>.) The maximum <a href="/wiki/Speed" title="Speed">speed</a> in a flight is attained at the lowest altitude of this free-fall trajectory, both at the start and at the end of it.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (May 2024)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p><p>If one's goal is simply to "reach space", for example in competing for the <a href="/wiki/Ansari_X_Prize" title="Ansari X Prize">Ansari X Prize</a>, horizontal motion is not needed. In this case the lowest required delta-v, to reach 100 km altitude, is about 1.4 <a href="/wiki/Km/s" class="mw-redirect" title="Km/s">km/s</a>. Moving slower, with less free-fall, would require more delta-v.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (May 2024)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p><p>Compare this with orbital spaceflights: a low Earth orbit (LEO), with an altitude of about 300 km, needs a speed around 7.7 km/s, requiring a delta-v of about 9.2 km/s. (If there were no atmospheric drag the theoretical minimum delta-v would be 8.1 km/s to put a craft into a 300-kilometer high orbit starting from a stationary point like the South Pole. The theoretical minimum can be up to 0.46 km/s less if launching eastward from near the equator.)<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (May 2024)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p><p>For sub-orbital spaceflights covering a horizontal distance the maximum speed and required delta-v are in between those of a vertical flight and a LEO. The maximum speed at the lower ends of the trajectory are now composed of a horizontal and a vertical component. The higher the horizontal <a href="/wiki/Distance" title="Distance">distance</a> covered, the greater the horizontal speed will be. (The vertical velocity will increase with distance for short distances but will decrease with distance at longer distances.) For the <a href="/wiki/V-2_rocket" title="V-2 rocket">V-2 rocket</a>, just reaching space but with a range of about 330 km, the maximum speed was 1.6 km/s. <a href="/wiki/Scaled_Composites_SpaceShipTwo" class="mw-redirect" title="Scaled Composites SpaceShipTwo">Scaled Composites SpaceShipTwo</a> which is under development will have a similar free-fall orbit but the announced maximum speed is 1.1 km/s (perhaps because of engine shut-off at a higher altitude).<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (May 2024)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup><sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Dates_and_numbers#Chronological_items" title="Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers"><span title="The date of the event predicted near this tag has passed. (June 2024)">needs update</span></a></i>]</sup> </p><p>For larger ranges, due to the elliptic orbit the maximum altitude can be much more than for a LEO. On a 10,000-kilometer intercontinental flight, such as that of an intercontinental ballistic missile or possible future <a href="/wiki/Commercial_spaceflight" class="mw-redirect" title="Commercial spaceflight">commercial spaceflight</a>, the maximum speed is about 7 km/s, and the maximum altitude may be more than 1300 km. Any <a href="/wiki/Spaceflight" title="Spaceflight">spaceflight</a> that returns to the surface, including sub-orbital ones, will undergo <a href="/wiki/Atmospheric_reentry" class="mw-redirect" title="Atmospheric reentry">atmospheric reentry</a>. The speed at the start of the reentry is basically the maximum speed of the flight. The <a href="/wiki/Aerodynamic_heating" title="Aerodynamic heating">aerodynamic heating</a> caused will vary accordingly: it is much less for a flight with a maximum speed of only 1 km/s than for one with a maximum speed of 7 or 8 km/s.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (May 2024)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p><p>The minimum delta-v and the corresponding maximum altitude for a given range can be calculated, <i>d</i>, assuming a spherical Earth of circumference <span class="nowrap"><span data-sort-value="7007400000000000000♠"></span>40<span style="margin-left:.25em;">000</span> km</span> and neglecting the Earth's rotation and atmosphere. Let θ be half the angle that the projectile is to go around the Earth, so in degrees it is 45°×<i>d</i>/<span class="nowrap"><span data-sort-value="7007100000000000000♠"></span>10<span style="margin-left:.25em;">000</span> km</span>. The minimum-delta-v trajectory corresponds to an ellipse with one focus at the centre of the Earth and the other at the point halfway between the launch point and the destination point (somewhere inside the Earth). (This is the orbit that minimizes the semi-major axis, which is equal to the sum of the distances from a point on the orbit to the two foci. Minimizing the semi-major axis minimizes the <a href="/wiki/Specific_orbital_energy" title="Specific orbital energy">specific orbital energy</a> and thus the delta-v, which is the speed of launch.) Geometrical arguments lead then to the following (with <i>R</i> being the radius of the Earth, about 6370 km): </p><p><span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-display mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math display="block" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle {\text{major axis}}=(1+\sin \theta )R}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mtext>major axis</mtext> </mrow> <mo>=</mo> <mo stretchy="false">(</mo> <mn>1</mn> <mo>+</mo> <mi>sin</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mi>θ</mi> <mo stretchy="false">)</mo> <mi>R</mi> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle {\text{major axis}}=(1+\sin \theta )R}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/81ae81bf60fccb8714dcbbecb8c9dfb8737f5751" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-display mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -0.838ex; width:25.426ex; height:2.843ex;" alt="{\displaystyle {\text{major axis}}=(1+\sin \theta )R}"></span> </p><p><span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-display mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math display="block" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle {\text{minor axis}}=R{\sqrt {2\left(\sin \theta +\sin ^{2}\theta \right)}}={\sqrt {R\sin(\theta ){\text{semi-major axis}}}}}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mtext>minor axis</mtext> </mrow> <mo>=</mo> <mi>R</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <msqrt> <mn>2</mn> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <mrow> <mi>sin</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mi>θ</mi> <mo>+</mo> <msup> <mi>sin</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mn>2</mn> </mrow> </msup> <mo>⁡</mo> <mi>θ</mi> </mrow> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> </msqrt> </mrow> <mo>=</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <msqrt> <mi>R</mi> <mi>sin</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mo stretchy="false">(</mo> <mi>θ</mi> <mo stretchy="false">)</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mtext>semi-major axis</mtext> </mrow> </msqrt> </mrow> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle {\text{minor axis}}=R{\sqrt {2\left(\sin \theta +\sin ^{2}\theta \right)}}={\sqrt {R\sin(\theta ){\text{semi-major axis}}}}}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/48c29756ef1a9f05381a5c4a6b33db82ffbb684d" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-display mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -1.838ex; width:62.962ex; height:4.843ex;" alt="{\displaystyle {\text{minor axis}}=R{\sqrt {2\left(\sin \theta +\sin ^{2}\theta \right)}}={\sqrt {R\sin(\theta ){\text{semi-major axis}}}}}"></span> </p><p><span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-display mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math display="block" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle {\text{distance of apogee from centre of Earth}}={\frac {R}{2}}(1+\sin \theta +\cos \theta )}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mtext>distance of apogee from centre of Earth</mtext> </mrow> <mo>=</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mi>R</mi> <mn>2</mn> </mfrac> </mrow> <mo stretchy="false">(</mo> <mn>1</mn> <mo>+</mo> <mi>sin</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mi>θ</mi> <mo>+</mo> <mi>cos</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mi>θ</mi> <mo stretchy="false">)</mo> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle {\text{distance of apogee from centre of Earth}}={\frac {R}{2}}(1+\sin \theta +\cos \theta )}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/5b0eebff50b24892dd434afe5b36a48436f3d0ef" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-display mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -1.838ex; width:62.412ex; height:5.176ex;" alt="{\displaystyle {\text{distance of apogee from centre of Earth}}={\frac {R}{2}}(1+\sin \theta +\cos \theta )}"></span> </p><p><span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-display mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math display="block" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle {\text{altitude of apogee above surface}}=\left({\frac {\sin \theta }{2}}-\sin ^{2}{\frac {\theta }{2}}\right)R=\left({\frac {1}{\sqrt {2}}}\sin \left(\theta +{\frac {\pi }{4}}\right)-{\frac {1}{2}}\right)R}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mtext>altitude of apogee above surface</mtext> </mrow> <mo>=</mo> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <mrow> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mrow> <mi>sin</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mi>θ</mi> </mrow> <mn>2</mn> </mfrac> </mrow> <mo>−</mo> <msup> <mi>sin</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mn>2</mn> </mrow> </msup> <mo>⁡</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mi>θ</mi> <mn>2</mn> </mfrac> </mrow> </mrow> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> <mi>R</mi> <mo>=</mo> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <mrow> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mn>1</mn> <msqrt> <mn>2</mn> </msqrt> </mfrac> </mrow> <mi>sin</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <mrow> <mi>θ</mi> <mo>+</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mi>π</mi> <mn>4</mn> </mfrac> </mrow> </mrow> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> <mo>−</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mn>1</mn> <mn>2</mn> </mfrac> </mrow> </mrow> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> <mi>R</mi> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle {\text{altitude of apogee above surface}}=\left({\frac {\sin \theta }{2}}-\sin ^{2}{\frac {\theta }{2}}\right)R=\left({\frac {1}{\sqrt {2}}}\sin \left(\theta +{\frac {\pi }{4}}\right)-{\frac {1}{2}}\right)R}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/0ef93f9214672419bdb3a6a2237c13963fbb42c9" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-display mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -2.838ex; width:84.399ex; height:6.509ex;" alt="{\displaystyle {\text{altitude of apogee above surface}}=\left({\frac {\sin \theta }{2}}-\sin ^{2}{\frac {\theta }{2}}\right)R=\left({\frac {1}{\sqrt {2}}}\sin \left(\theta +{\frac {\pi }{4}}\right)-{\frac {1}{2}}\right)R}"></span> </p><p>The altitude of apogee is maximized (at about 1320 km) for a trajectory going one quarter of the way around the Earth (<span class="nowrap"><span data-sort-value="7007100000000000000♠"></span>10<span style="margin-left:.25em;">000</span> km</span>). Longer ranges will have lower apogees in the minimal-delta-v solution. </p><p><span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-display mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math display="block" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle {\text{specific kinetic energy at launch}}={\frac {\mu }{R}}-{\frac {\mu }{\text{major axis}}}={\frac {\mu }{R}}{\frac {\sin \theta }{1+\sin \theta }}}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mtext>specific kinetic energy at launch</mtext> </mrow> <mo>=</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mi>μ</mi> <mi>R</mi> </mfrac> </mrow> <mo>−</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mi>μ</mi> <mtext>major axis</mtext> </mfrac> </mrow> <mo>=</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mi>μ</mi> <mi>R</mi> </mfrac> </mrow> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mrow> <mi>sin</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mi>θ</mi> </mrow> <mrow> <mn>1</mn> <mo>+</mo> <mi>sin</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mi>θ</mi> </mrow> </mfrac> </mrow> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle {\text{specific kinetic energy at launch}}={\frac {\mu }{R}}-{\frac {\mu }{\text{major axis}}}={\frac {\mu }{R}}{\frac {\sin \theta }{1+\sin \theta }}}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/7ebd6a518d8792561f3b49496afc5d3c413ed038" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-display mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -2.338ex; width:66.526ex; height:5.843ex;" alt="{\displaystyle {\text{specific kinetic energy at launch}}={\frac {\mu }{R}}-{\frac {\mu }{\text{major axis}}}={\frac {\mu }{R}}{\frac {\sin \theta }{1+\sin \theta }}}"></span> </p><p><span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-display mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math display="block" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle \Delta v={\text{speed at launch}}={\sqrt {2{\frac {\mu }{R}}{\frac {\sin \theta }{1+\sin \theta }}}}={\sqrt {2gR{\frac {\sin \theta }{1+\sin \theta }}}}}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mi mathvariant="normal">Δ</mi> <mi>v</mi> <mo>=</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mtext>speed at launch</mtext> </mrow> <mo>=</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <msqrt> <mn>2</mn> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mi>μ</mi> <mi>R</mi> </mfrac> </mrow> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mrow> <mi>sin</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mi>θ</mi> </mrow> <mrow> <mn>1</mn> <mo>+</mo> <mi>sin</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mi>θ</mi> </mrow> </mfrac> </mrow> </msqrt> </mrow> <mo>=</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <msqrt> <mn>2</mn> <mi>g</mi> <mi>R</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mrow> <mi>sin</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mi>θ</mi> </mrow> <mrow> <mn>1</mn> <mo>+</mo> <mi>sin</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mi>θ</mi> </mrow> </mfrac> </mrow> </msqrt> </mrow> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle \Delta v={\text{speed at launch}}={\sqrt {2{\frac {\mu }{R}}{\frac {\sin \theta }{1+\sin \theta }}}}={\sqrt {2gR{\frac {\sin \theta }{1+\sin \theta }}}}}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/5e583cf9f6138564b43e009aac5a39f51ccad065" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-display mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -3.171ex; width:58.67ex; height:7.676ex;" alt="{\displaystyle \Delta v={\text{speed at launch}}={\sqrt {2{\frac {\mu }{R}}{\frac {\sin \theta }{1+\sin \theta }}}}={\sqrt {2gR{\frac {\sin \theta }{1+\sin \theta }}}}}"></span> </p><p>(where <i>g</i> is the acceleration of gravity at the Earth's surface). The Δ<i>v</i> increases with range, leveling off at 7.9 km/s as the range approaches <span class="nowrap"><span data-sort-value="7007200000000000000♠"></span>20<span style="margin-left:.25em;">000</span> km</span> (halfway around the world). The minimum-delta-v trajectory for going halfway around the world corresponds to a circular orbit just above the surface (of course in reality it would have to be above the atmosphere). See lower for the time of flight. </p><p>An <a href="/wiki/Intercontinental_ballistic_missile" title="Intercontinental ballistic missile">intercontinental ballistic missile</a> is defined as a missile that can hit a target at least 5500 km away, and according to the above formula this requires an initial speed of 6.1 km/s. Increasing the speed to 7.9 km/s to attain any point on Earth requires a considerably larger missile because the amount of fuel needed goes up exponentially with delta-v (see <a href="/wiki/Rocket_equation" class="mw-redirect" title="Rocket equation">Rocket equation</a>). </p><p>The initial direction of a minimum-delta-v trajectory points halfway between straight up and straight toward the destination point (which is below the horizon). Again, this is the case if the Earth's rotation is ignored. It is not exactly true for a rotating planet unless the launch takes place at a pole.<sup id="cite_ref-tpticbm_7-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-tpticbm-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Flight_duration">Flight duration</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sub-orbital_spaceflight&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Flight duration"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In a vertical flight of not too high altitudes, the time of the free-fall is both for the upward and for the downward part the maximum speed divided by the <a href="/wiki/Standard_gravity" title="Standard gravity">acceleration of gravity</a>, so with a maximum speed of 1 km/s together 3 minutes and 20 seconds. The duration of the <a href="/wiki/Flight" title="Flight">flight</a> phases before and after the free-fall can vary.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (May 2024)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p><p>For an intercontinental flight the <a href="/wiki/Boost_phase" class="mw-redirect" title="Boost phase">boost phase</a> takes 3 to 5 minutes, the free-fall (midcourse phase) about 25 minutes. For an ICBM the atmospheric reentry phase takes about 2 minutes; this will be longer for any soft landing, such as for a possible future commercial flight.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (May 2024)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> <a href="/wiki/SpaceX_Starship_integrated_flight_test_4" class="mw-redirect" title="SpaceX Starship integrated flight test 4">Test flight 4 of the SpaceX 'Starship'</a> performed such a flight with a lift off from Texas and a simulated soft touchdown in the Indian Ocean 66 minutes after liftoff. </p><p>Sub-orbital flights can last from just seconds to days. <a href="/wiki/Pioneer_1" title="Pioneer 1">Pioneer 1</a> was <a href="/wiki/NASA" title="NASA">NASA</a>'s first <a href="/wiki/Space_probe" class="mw-redirect" title="Space probe">space probe</a>, intended to reach the <a href="/wiki/Moon" title="Moon">Moon</a>. A partial failure caused it to instead follow a sub-orbital trajectory, reentering the Earth's atmosphere 43 hours after launch.<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>To calculate the time of flight for a minimum-delta-v trajectory, according to <a href="/wiki/Kepler%27s_third_law" class="mw-redirect" title="Kepler's third law">Kepler's third law</a>, the period for the entire orbit (if it did not go through the Earth) would be: </p><p><span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-display mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math display="block" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle {\text{period}}=\left({\frac {\text{semi-major axis}}{R}}\right)^{\frac {3}{2}}\times {\text{period of low Earth orbit}}=\left({\frac {1+\sin \theta }{2}}\right)^{\frac {3}{2}}2\pi {\sqrt {\frac {R}{g}}}}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mtext>period</mtext> </mrow> <mo>=</mo> <msup> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mtext>semi-major axis</mtext> <mi>R</mi> </mfrac> </mrow> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mn>3</mn> <mn>2</mn> </mfrac> </mrow> </msup> <mo>×</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mtext>period of low Earth orbit</mtext> </mrow> <mo>=</mo> <msup> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mrow> <mn>1</mn> <mo>+</mo> <mi>sin</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mi>θ</mi> </mrow> <mn>2</mn> </mfrac> </mrow> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mn>3</mn> <mn>2</mn> </mfrac> </mrow> </msup> <mn>2</mn> <mi>π</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <msqrt> <mfrac> <mi>R</mi> <mi>g</mi> </mfrac> </msqrt> </mrow> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle {\text{period}}=\left({\frac {\text{semi-major axis}}{R}}\right)^{\frac {3}{2}}\times {\text{period of low Earth orbit}}=\left({\frac {1+\sin \theta }{2}}\right)^{\frac {3}{2}}2\pi {\sqrt {\frac {R}{g}}}}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/42cb89fb47619839598e070fbf5e6eab9284e71f" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-display mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -3.171ex; width:83.635ex; height:8.009ex;" alt="{\displaystyle {\text{period}}=\left({\frac {\text{semi-major axis}}{R}}\right)^{\frac {3}{2}}\times {\text{period of low Earth orbit}}=\left({\frac {1+\sin \theta }{2}}\right)^{\frac {3}{2}}2\pi {\sqrt {\frac {R}{g}}}}"></span> </p><p>Using <a href="/wiki/Kepler%27s_second_law" class="mw-redirect" title="Kepler's second law">Kepler's second law</a>, we multiply this by the portion of the area of the ellipse swept by the line from the centre of the Earth to the projectile: </p><p><span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-display mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math display="block" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle {\text{area fraction}}={\frac {1}{\pi }}\arcsin {\sqrt {\frac {2\sin \theta }{1+\sin \theta }}}+{\frac {2\cos \theta \sin \theta }{\pi {\text{(major axis)(minor axis)}}}}}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mtext>area fraction</mtext> </mrow> <mo>=</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mn>1</mn> <mi>π</mi> </mfrac> </mrow> <mi>arcsin</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <msqrt> <mfrac> <mrow> <mn>2</mn> <mi>sin</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mi>θ</mi> </mrow> <mrow> <mn>1</mn> <mo>+</mo> <mi>sin</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mi>θ</mi> </mrow> </mfrac> </msqrt> </mrow> <mo>+</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mrow> <mn>2</mn> <mi>cos</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mi>θ</mi> <mi>sin</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mi>θ</mi> </mrow> <mrow> <mi>π</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mtext>(major axis)(minor axis)</mtext> </mrow> </mrow> </mfrac> </mrow> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle {\text{area fraction}}={\frac {1}{\pi }}\arcsin {\sqrt {\frac {2\sin \theta }{1+\sin \theta }}}+{\frac {2\cos \theta \sin \theta }{\pi {\text{(major axis)(minor axis)}}}}}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/95b21a5b818bb5e71f173586f8241a6c9d76a788" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-display mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -3.171ex; width:65.701ex; height:7.676ex;" alt="{\displaystyle {\text{area fraction}}={\frac {1}{\pi }}\arcsin {\sqrt {\frac {2\sin \theta }{1+\sin \theta }}}+{\frac {2\cos \theta \sin \theta }{\pi {\text{(major axis)(minor axis)}}}}}"></span> </p><p><span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-display mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math display="block" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}{\text{time of flight}}&=\left(\left({\frac {1+\sin \theta }{2}}\right)^{\frac {3}{2}}\arcsin {\sqrt {\frac {2\sin \theta }{1+\sin \theta }}}+{\frac {1}{2}}\cos \theta {\sqrt {\sin \theta }}\right)2{\sqrt {\frac {R}{g}}}\\&=\left(\left({\frac {1+\sin \theta }{2}}\right)^{\frac {3}{2}}\arccos {\frac {\cos \theta }{1+\sin \theta }}+{\frac {1}{2}}\cos \theta {\sqrt {\sin \theta }}\right)2{\sqrt {\frac {R}{g}}}\\\end{aligned}}}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mtable columnalign="right left right left right left right left right left right left" rowspacing="3pt" columnspacing="0em 2em 0em 2em 0em 2em 0em 2em 0em 2em 0em" displaystyle="true"> <mtr> <mtd> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mtext>time of flight</mtext> </mrow> </mtd> <mtd> <mi></mi> <mo>=</mo> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <mrow> <msup> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mrow> <mn>1</mn> <mo>+</mo> <mi>sin</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mi>θ</mi> </mrow> <mn>2</mn> </mfrac> </mrow> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mn>3</mn> <mn>2</mn> </mfrac> </mrow> </msup> <mi>arcsin</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <msqrt> <mfrac> <mrow> <mn>2</mn> <mi>sin</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mi>θ</mi> </mrow> <mrow> <mn>1</mn> <mo>+</mo> <mi>sin</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mi>θ</mi> </mrow> </mfrac> </msqrt> </mrow> <mo>+</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mn>1</mn> <mn>2</mn> </mfrac> </mrow> <mi>cos</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mi>θ</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <msqrt> <mi>sin</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mi>θ</mi> </msqrt> </mrow> </mrow> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> <mn>2</mn> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <msqrt> <mfrac> <mi>R</mi> <mi>g</mi> </mfrac> </msqrt> </mrow> </mtd> </mtr> <mtr> <mtd /> <mtd> <mi></mi> <mo>=</mo> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <mrow> <msup> <mrow> <mo>(</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mrow> <mn>1</mn> <mo>+</mo> <mi>sin</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mi>θ</mi> </mrow> <mn>2</mn> </mfrac> </mrow> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mn>3</mn> <mn>2</mn> </mfrac> </mrow> </msup> <mi>arccos</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mrow> <mi>cos</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mi>θ</mi> </mrow> <mrow> <mn>1</mn> <mo>+</mo> <mi>sin</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mi>θ</mi> </mrow> </mfrac> </mrow> <mo>+</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mn>1</mn> <mn>2</mn> </mfrac> </mrow> <mi>cos</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mi>θ</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <msqrt> <mi>sin</mi> <mo>⁡</mo> <mi>θ</mi> </msqrt> </mrow> </mrow> <mo>)</mo> </mrow> <mn>2</mn> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <msqrt> <mfrac> <mi>R</mi> <mi>g</mi> </mfrac> </msqrt> </mrow> </mtd> </mtr> </mtable> </mrow> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}{\text{time of flight}}&=\left(\left({\frac {1+\sin \theta }{2}}\right)^{\frac {3}{2}}\arcsin {\sqrt {\frac {2\sin \theta }{1+\sin \theta }}}+{\frac {1}{2}}\cos \theta {\sqrt {\sin \theta }}\right)2{\sqrt {\frac {R}{g}}}\\&=\left(\left({\frac {1+\sin \theta }{2}}\right)^{\frac {3}{2}}\arccos {\frac {\cos \theta }{1+\sin \theta }}+{\frac {1}{2}}\cos \theta {\sqrt {\sin \theta }}\right)2{\sqrt {\frac {R}{g}}}\\\end{aligned}}}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/d4dd26afc5cb72a228887a55386663108d5ee644" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-display mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -7.838ex; width:75.956ex; height:16.843ex;" alt="{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}{\text{time of flight}}&=\left(\left({\frac {1+\sin \theta }{2}}\right)^{\frac {3}{2}}\arcsin {\sqrt {\frac {2\sin \theta }{1+\sin \theta }}}+{\frac {1}{2}}\cos \theta {\sqrt {\sin \theta }}\right)2{\sqrt {\frac {R}{g}}}\\&=\left(\left({\frac {1+\sin \theta }{2}}\right)^{\frac {3}{2}}\arccos {\frac {\cos \theta }{1+\sin \theta }}+{\frac {1}{2}}\cos \theta {\sqrt {\sin \theta }}\right)2{\sqrt {\frac {R}{g}}}\\\end{aligned}}}"></span> </p><p>This gives about 32 minutes for going a quarter of the way around the Earth, and 42 minutes for going halfway around. For short distances, this expression is <a href="/wiki/Asymptotic" class="mw-redirect" title="Asymptotic">asymptotic</a> to <span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle {\sqrt {2d/g}}}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <msqrt> <mn>2</mn> <mi>d</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mo>/</mo> </mrow> <mi>g</mi> </msqrt> </mrow> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle {\sqrt {2d/g}}}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/bdac07e3bde06e991d33db434b03f1eff417ac53" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -1.838ex; width:6.981ex; height:4.843ex;" alt="{\displaystyle {\sqrt {2d/g}}}"></span>. </p><p>From the form involving arccosine, the derivative of the time of flight with respect to <i>d</i> (or θ) goes to zero as <i>d</i> approaches <span class="nowrap"><span data-sort-value="7007200000000000000♠"></span>20<span style="margin-left:.25em;">000</span> km</span> (halfway around the world). The derivative of Δ<i>v</i> also goes to zero here. So if <i>d</i> = <span class="nowrap"><span data-sort-value="7007190000000000000♠"></span>19<span style="margin-left:.25em;">000</span> km</span>, the length of the minimum-delta-v trajectory will be about <span class="nowrap"><span data-sort-value="7007195000000000000♠"></span>19<span style="margin-left:.25em;">500</span> km</span>, but it will take only a few seconds less time than the trajectory for <i>d</i> = <span class="nowrap"><span data-sort-value="7007200000000000000♠"></span>20<span style="margin-left:.25em;">000</span> km</span> (for which the trajectory is <span class="nowrap"><span data-sort-value="7007200000000000000♠"></span>20<span style="margin-left:.25em;">000</span> km</span> long). </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Flight_profiles">Flight profiles</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sub-orbital_spaceflight&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Flight profiles"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Mr3-flight-timeline-simple.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/Mr3-flight-timeline-simple.png/330px-Mr3-flight-timeline-simple.png" decoding="async" width="330" height="162" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/Mr3-flight-timeline-simple.png/495px-Mr3-flight-timeline-simple.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/Mr3-flight-timeline-simple.png/660px-Mr3-flight-timeline-simple.png 2x" data-file-width="908" data-file-height="446" /></a><figcaption>Profile for the first crewed American sub-orbital flight, 1961. Launch rocket lifts the spacecraft for the first 2:22 minutes. Dashed line: zero gravity.</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Science_and_Mechanics_Nov_1931_cover.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Science_and_Mechanics_Nov_1931_cover.jpg/220px-Science_and_Mechanics_Nov_1931_cover.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="294" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Science_and_Mechanics_Nov_1931_cover.jpg/330px-Science_and_Mechanics_Nov_1931_cover.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Science_and_Mechanics_Nov_1931_cover.jpg/440px-Science_and_Mechanics_Nov_1931_cover.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2550" data-file-height="3413" /></a><figcaption><i><a href="/w/index.php?title=Science_and_Mechanics&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Science and Mechanics (page does not exist)">Science and Mechanics</a></i> cover of November 1931, showing a proposed sub-orbital spaceship that would reach an altitude 700 miles (1,100 km) on its one hour trip from Berlin to New York.</figcaption></figure> <p>While there are a great many possible sub-orbital flight profiles, it is expected that some will be more common than others. </p> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:X-15.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/X-15.jpg/220px-X-15.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="177" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/X-15.jpg/330px-X-15.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/X-15.jpg/440px-X-15.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2400" data-file-height="1934" /></a><figcaption>The X-15 (1958–1968) was launched to an altitude of 13.7 km by a <a href="/wiki/Boeing_B-52_Stratofortress" title="Boeing B-52 Stratofortress">B-52</a> <a href="/wiki/Mother_ship" title="Mother ship">mothership</a>, lifted itself to approximately 100 km, and then glided to the ground.</figcaption></figure> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Ballistic_missiles">Ballistic missiles</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sub-orbital_spaceflight&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Ballistic missiles"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The first sub-orbital vehicles which reached space were <a href="/wiki/Ballistic_missiles" class="mw-redirect" title="Ballistic missiles">ballistic missiles</a>. The first ballistic missile to reach space was the German <a href="/wiki/V-2_rocket" title="V-2 rocket">V-2</a>, the work of the scientists at <a href="/wiki/Peenem%C3%BCnde" title="Peenemünde">Peenemünde</a>, on October 3, 1942, which reached an altitude of 53 miles (85 km).<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Then in the late 1940s the US and <a href="/wiki/USSR" class="mw-redirect" title="USSR">USSR</a> concurrently developed missiles all of which were based on the V-2 Rocket, and then much longer range Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs). There are now many countries who possess ICBMs and even more with shorter range <a href="/wiki/IRBM" class="mw-redirect" title="IRBM">Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles</a> (IRBMs).<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (May 2024)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Tourist_flights">Tourist flights</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sub-orbital_spaceflight&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Tourist flights"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><a href="/wiki/Space_tourism" title="Space tourism">Sub-orbital tourist flights</a> will initially focus on attaining the altitude required to qualify as reaching space. The flight path will be either vertical or very steep, with the spacecraft landing back at its take-off site. </p><p>The spacecraft will shut off its <a href="/wiki/Engine" title="Engine">engines</a> well before reaching maximum altitude, and then coast up to its highest point. During a few minutes, from the point when the engines are shut off to the point where the atmosphere begins to slow down the downward acceleration, the passengers will experience <a href="/wiki/Weightlessness" title="Weightlessness">weightlessness</a>. </p><p><a href="/wiki/Megaroc" title="Megaroc">Megaroc</a> had been planned for sub-orbital spaceflight by the <a href="/wiki/British_Interplanetary_Society" title="British Interplanetary Society">British Interplanetary Society</a> in the 1940s.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In late 1945, a group led by M. Tikhonravov K. and N. G. Chernysheva at the Soviet NII-4 academy (dedicated to rocket artillery science and technology), began work on a stratospheric rocket project, <a href="/wiki/Project_VR-190" title="Project VR-190">VR-190</a>, aimed at vertical flight by a crew of two pilots, to an altitude of 200 km (65,000 ft) using captured <a href="/wiki/V-2_rocket" title="V-2 rocket">V-2</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In 2004, a number of companies worked on vehicles in this class as entrants to the Ansari X Prize competition. The <a href="/wiki/Scaled_Composites_SpaceShipOne" class="mw-redirect" title="Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne">Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne</a> was officially declared by <a href="/wiki/Richard_A._Searfoss" title="Richard A. Searfoss">Rick Searfoss</a> to have won the competition on October 4, 2004, after completing two flights within a two-week period. </p><p>In 2005, <a href="/wiki/Richard_Branson" title="Richard Branson">Sir Richard Branson</a> of the <a href="/wiki/Virgin_Group" title="Virgin Group">Virgin Group</a> announced the creation of <a href="/wiki/Virgin_Galactic" title="Virgin Galactic">Virgin Galactic</a> and his plans for a 9-seat capacity SpaceShipTwo named <a href="/wiki/VSS_Enterprise" title="VSS Enterprise">VSS <i>Enterprise</i></a>. It has since been completed with eight seats (one pilot, one co-pilot and six passengers) and has taken part in captive-carry tests and with the first mother-ship <a href="/wiki/WhiteKnightTwo" class="mw-redirect" title="WhiteKnightTwo">WhiteKnightTwo</a>, or <a href="/wiki/VMS_Eve" title="VMS Eve">VMS <i>Eve</i></a>. It has also completed solitary glides, with the movable tail sections in both fixed and "feathered" configurations. The <a href="/wiki/Hybrid_rocket" class="mw-redirect" title="Hybrid rocket">hybrid rocket</a> motor has been fired multiple times in ground-based test stands, and was fired in a powered flight for the second time on 5 September 2013.<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Four additional SpaceShipTwos have been ordered and will operate from the new <a href="/wiki/Spaceport_America" title="Spaceport America">Spaceport America</a>. Commercial flights carrying passengers were expected in 2014, but became cancelled due to the <a href="/wiki/VSS_Enterprise_crash" title="VSS Enterprise crash">disaster during SS2 PF04 flight</a>. Branson stated, "[w]e are going to learn from what went wrong, discover how we can improve safety and performance and then move forwards together."<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Scientific_experiments">Scientific experiments</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sub-orbital_spaceflight&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Scientific experiments"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>A major use of sub-orbital vehicles today is as <a href="/wiki/Scientific" class="mw-redirect" title="Scientific">scientific</a> <a href="/wiki/Sounding_rocket" title="Sounding rocket">sounding rockets</a>. Scientific sub-orbital flights began in the 1920s when <a href="/wiki/Robert_H._Goddard" title="Robert H. Goddard">Robert H. Goddard</a> launched the first <a href="/wiki/Liquid_fuel" title="Liquid fuel">liquid fueled</a> rockets, however they did not reach <a href="/wiki/Space" title="Space">space</a> altitude. In the late 1940s, captured German <a href="/wiki/V-2_rocket" title="V-2 rocket">V-2 ballistic missiles</a> were converted into <a href="/wiki/V-2_sounding_rocket" title="V-2 sounding rocket">V-2 sounding rockets</a> which helped lay the foundation for modern sounding rockets.<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Today there are dozens of different sounding rockets on the market, from a variety of suppliers in various countries. Typically, researchers wish to conduct experiments in <a href="/wiki/Microgravity" class="mw-redirect" title="Microgravity">microgravity</a> or above the atmosphere. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Sub-orbital_transportation">Sub-orbital transportation</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sub-orbital_spaceflight&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Sub-orbital transportation"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Research, such as that done for the <a href="/wiki/X-20_Dyna-Soar" class="mw-redirect" title="X-20 Dyna-Soar">X-20 Dyna-Soar</a> project suggests that a semi-ballistic sub-orbital flight could travel from Europe to North America in less than an hour. </p><p>However, the size of rocket, relative to the payload, necessary to achieve this, is similar to an ICBM. ICBMs have delta-v's somewhat less than orbital; and therefore would be somewhat cheaper than the costs for reaching orbit, but the difference is not large.<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Due to the high cost of spaceflight, suborbital flights are likely to be initially limited to high value, very high urgency cargo deliveries such as <a href="/wiki/Courier" title="Courier">courier</a> flights, <a href="/wiki/Military" title="Military">military</a> fast-response operations or <a href="/wiki/Space_tourism" title="Space tourism">space tourism</a>.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template noprint Template-Opinion" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Neutral_point_of_view/FAQ#Assert_facts,_not_opinions" title="Wikipedia:Neutral point of view/FAQ"><span title="This statement may be opinion presented as fact. (April 2012)">opinion</span></a></i>]</sup> </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/SpaceLiner" title="SpaceLiner">SpaceLiner</a> is a hypersonic <a href="/wiki/Suborbital_spaceplane" class="mw-redirect" title="Suborbital spaceplane">suborbital spaceplane</a> concept that could transport 50 passengers from <a href="/wiki/Australia" title="Australia">Australia</a> to <a href="/wiki/Europe" title="Europe">Europe</a> in 90 minutes or 100 passengers from Europe to <a href="/wiki/California" title="California">California</a> in 60 minutes.<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The main challenge lies in increasing the reliability of the different components, particularly the engines, in order to make their use for passenger transportation on a daily basis possible. </p><p><a href="/wiki/SpaceX" title="SpaceX">SpaceX</a> is potentially considering using their <a href="/wiki/SpaceX_Starship" title="SpaceX Starship">Starship</a> as a sub-orbital point-to-point transportation system.<sup id="cite_ref-trati20190530_18-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-trati20190530-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Notable_uncrewed_sub-orbital_spaceflights">Notable uncrewed sub-orbital spaceflights</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sub-orbital_spaceflight&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Notable uncrewed sub-orbital spaceflights"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>The first sub-orbital space flight was on 20 June 1944, when <a href="/wiki/MW_18014" title="MW 18014">MW 18014, a V-2 test rocket</a>, launched from <a href="/wiki/Peenem%C3%BCnde" title="Peenemünde">Peenemünde</a> in Germany and reached 176 kilometres altitude.<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bumper_(rocket)" class="mw-redirect" title="Bumper (rocket)">Bumper</a> 5, a two-stage rocket launched from the <a href="/wiki/White_Sands_Proving_Grounds" class="mw-redirect" title="White Sands Proving Grounds">White Sands Proving Grounds</a>. On 24 February 1949 the upper stage reached an altitude of 248 miles (399 km) and a speed of 7,553 feet per second (2,302 m/s; Mach 6.8).<sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Albert_II_(monkey)" title="Albert II (monkey)">Albert II</a>, a male <a href="/wiki/Rhesus_macaque" title="Rhesus macaque">rhesus macaque</a>, became the first mammal in space on 14 June 1949 in a sub-orbital flight from <a href="/wiki/Holloman_Air_Force_Base" title="Holloman Air Force Base">Holloman Air Force Base</a> in New Mexico to an altitude of 83 miles (134 km) aboard a U.S. <a href="/wiki/V-2_sounding_rocket" title="V-2 sounding rocket">V-2 sounding rocket</a>.</li> <li>USSR – <a href="/wiki/Energia_(rocket)" title="Energia (rocket)">Energia</a>, 15 May 1987, a <a href="/wiki/Polyus_(spacecraft)" title="Polyus (spacecraft)">Polyus</a> payload which failed to reach orbit</li> <li>SpaceX <a href="/wiki/SpaceX_Starship_integrated_flight_test_3" class="mw-redirect" title="SpaceX Starship integrated flight test 3">IFT-3</a>, 14 March 2024, first successful <a href="/wiki/SpaceX_Starship" title="SpaceX Starship">Starship</a> <a href="/wiki/SpaceX_Starship_flight_tests" class="mw-redirect" title="SpaceX Starship flight tests">flight test</a>, most massive object launched into a sub-orbital trajectory to date.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Crewed_sub-orbital_spaceflights">Crewed sub-orbital spaceflights</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sub-orbital_spaceflight&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Crewed sub-orbital spaceflights"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Above 100 km (62.14 mi) in altitude. </p> <table class="wikitable"> <tbody><tr> <th> </th> <th>Date (GMT) </th> <th>Mission </th> <th>Crew </th> <th>Country </th> <th>Remarks </th></tr> <tr> <td>1 </td> <td>1961-05-05 </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Mercury-Redstone_3" title="Mercury-Redstone 3">Mercury-Redstone 3</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Alan_Shepard" title="Alan Shepard">Alan Shepard</a> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="13" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/35px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/46px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png 2x" data-file-width="69" data-file-height="39" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a> </td> <td>First crewed sub-orbital spaceflight, first American in space </td></tr> <tr> <td>2 </td> <td>1961-07-21 </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Mercury-Redstone_4" title="Mercury-Redstone 4">Mercury-Redstone 4</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Virgil_Grissom" class="mw-redirect" title="Virgil Grissom">Virgil Grissom</a> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="13" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/35px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/46px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png 2x" data-file-width="69" data-file-height="39" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a> </td> <td>Second crewed sub-orbital spaceflight, second American in space </td></tr> <tr> <td>3 </td> <td>1963-07-19 </td> <td><a href="/wiki/X-15_Flight_90" title="X-15 Flight 90">X-15 Flight 90</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Joseph_A._Walker" title="Joseph A. Walker">Joseph A. Walker</a> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="13" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/35px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/46px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png 2x" data-file-width="69" data-file-height="39" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a> </td> <td>First winged craft in space </td></tr> <tr> <td>4 </td> <td>1963-08-22 </td> <td><a href="/wiki/X-15_Flight_91" title="X-15 Flight 91">X-15 Flight 91</a> </td> <td>Joseph A. Walker </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="13" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/35px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/46px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png 2x" data-file-width="69" data-file-height="39" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a> </td> <td>First person and spacecraft to make two flights into space </td></tr> <tr> <td>5 </td> <td>1975-04-05 </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Soyuz_18a" class="mw-redirect" title="Soyuz 18a">Soyuz 18a</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Vasili_Lazarev" class="mw-redirect" title="Vasili Lazarev">Vasili Lazarev</a><br /><a href="/wiki/Oleg_Grigoryevich_Makarov" class="mw-redirect" title="Oleg Grigoryevich Makarov">Oleg Makarov</a> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/46px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="600" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a> </td> <td>Failed orbital launch. Aborted after malfunction during stage separation </td></tr> <tr> <td>6 </td> <td>2004-06-21 </td> <td><a href="/wiki/SpaceShipOne_flight_15P" title="SpaceShipOne flight 15P">SpaceShipOne flight 15P</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Mike_Melvill" title="Mike Melvill">Mike Melvill</a> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="13" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/35px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/46px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png 2x" data-file-width="69" data-file-height="39" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a> </td> <td>First commercial spaceflight </td></tr> <tr> <td>7 </td> <td>2004-09-29 </td> <td><a href="/wiki/SpaceShipOne_flight_16P" title="SpaceShipOne flight 16P">SpaceShipOne flight 16P</a> </td> <td>Mike Melvill </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="13" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/35px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/46px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png 2x" data-file-width="69" data-file-height="39" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a> </td> <td>First of two flights to win <a href="/wiki/Ansari_X-Prize" class="mw-redirect" title="Ansari X-Prize">Ansari X-Prize</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td>8 </td> <td>2004-10-04 </td> <td><a href="/wiki/SpaceShipOne_flight_17P" title="SpaceShipOne flight 17P">SpaceShipOne flight 17P</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Brian_Binnie" title="Brian Binnie">Brian Binnie</a> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="13" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/35px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/46px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png 2x" data-file-width="69" data-file-height="39" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a> </td> <td>Second X-Prize flight, clinching award </td></tr> <tr> <td>9 </td> <td>2021-07-20 </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Blue_Origin_NS-16" title="Blue Origin NS-16">Blue Origin NS-16</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Jeff_Bezos" title="Jeff Bezos">Jeff Bezos</a><br /><a href="/wiki/Mark_Bezos" title="Mark Bezos">Mark Bezos</a><br /><a href="/wiki/Wally_Funk" title="Wally Funk">Wally Funk</a><br /><a href="/wiki/Oliver_Daemen" title="Oliver Daemen">Oliver Daemen</a> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="13" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/35px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/46px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png 2x" data-file-width="69" data-file-height="39" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a> </td> <td>First crewed Blue Origin flight </td></tr> <tr> <td>10 </td> <td>2021-10-13 </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Blue_Origin_NS-18" title="Blue Origin NS-18">Blue Origin NS-18</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Audrey_Powers" title="Audrey Powers">Audrey Powers</a><br /><a href="/wiki/Chris_Boshuizen" class="mw-redirect" title="Chris Boshuizen">Chris Boshuizen</a><br /><a href="/wiki/Glen_de_Vries" title="Glen de Vries">Glen de Vries</a><br /><a href="/wiki/William_Shatner" title="William Shatner">William Shatner</a> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="13" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/35px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/46px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png 2x" data-file-width="69" data-file-height="39" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a> </td> <td>Second crewed Blue Origin flight </td></tr> <tr> <td>11 </td> <td>2021-12-11 </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Blue_Origin_NS-19" title="Blue Origin NS-19">Blue Origin NS-19</a> </td> <td><span class="nowrap">Laura Shepard Churchley</span><br /><a href="/wiki/Michael_Strahan" title="Michael Strahan">Michael Strahan</a><br /><a href="/wiki/Dylan_Taylor_(executive)" title="Dylan Taylor (executive)">Dylan Taylor</a><br />Evan Dick<br /><a href="/wiki/Lane_Bess" title="Lane Bess">Lane Bess</a><br />Cameron Bess </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="13" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/35px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/46px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png 2x" data-file-width="69" data-file-height="39" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a> </td> <td>Third crewed Blue Origin flight </td></tr> <tr> <td>12 </td> <td>2022-03-31 </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Blue_Origin_NS-20" title="Blue Origin NS-20">Blue Origin NS-20</a> </td> <td><span class="nowrap">Marty Allen</span><br />Sharon Hagle<br />Marc Hagle<br /><a href="/wiki/Jim_Kitchen" title="Jim Kitchen">Jim Kitchen</a><br />George Nield<br /><a href="/wiki/Gary_Lai" title="Gary Lai">Gary Lai</a> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="13" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/35px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/46px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png 2x" data-file-width="69" data-file-height="39" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a> </td> <td>Fourth crewed Blue Origin flight </td></tr> <tr> <td>13 </td> <td>2022-06-04 </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Blue_Origin_NS-21" title="Blue Origin NS-21">Blue Origin NS-21</a> </td> <td>Evan Dick<br /><a href="/wiki/Katya_Echazarreta" title="Katya Echazarreta">Katya Echazarreta</a><br /><a href="/wiki/Hamish_Harding" title="Hamish Harding">Hamish Harding</a><br />Victor Correa Hespanha<br /><a href="/wiki/Jaison_Robinson" class="mw-redirect" title="Jaison Robinson">Jaison Robinson</a><br /><a href="/wiki/Victor_Vescovo" title="Victor Vescovo">Victor Vescovo</a> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="13" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/35px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/46px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png 2x" data-file-width="69" data-file-height="39" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a> </td> <td>Fifth crewed Blue Origin flight </td></tr> <tr> <td>14 </td> <td>2022-08-04 </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Blue_Origin_NS-22" title="Blue Origin NS-22">Blue Origin NS-22</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Coby_Cotton" class="mw-redirect" title="Coby Cotton">Coby Cotton</a><br /><a href="/wiki/M%C3%A1rio_Ferreira" title="Mário Ferreira">Mário Ferreira</a><br /><a href="/wiki/Vanessa_O%27Brien" title="Vanessa O'Brien">Vanessa O'Brien</a><br />Clint Kelly III<br />Sara Sabry<br />Steve Young </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="13" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/35px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/46px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png 2x" data-file-width="69" data-file-height="39" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a> </td> <td>Sixth crewed Blue Origin flight </td></tr> <tr> <td>15 </td> <td>2024-05-19 </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Blue_Origin_NS-25" title="Blue Origin NS-25">Blue Origin NS-25</a> </td> <td>Mason Angel<br />Sylvain Chiron<br /><a href="/wiki/Ed_Dwight" title="Ed Dwight">Ed Dwight</a><br /><a href="/wiki/Kenneth_Hess" title="Kenneth Hess">Kenneth Hess</a><br />Carol Schaller<br />Gopichand Thotakura </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="13" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/35px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/46px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png 2x" data-file-width="69" data-file-height="39" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a> </td> <td>Seventh crewed Blue Origin flight </td></tr> <tr> <td>16 </td> <td>2024-08-29 </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Blue_Origin_NS-26" title="Blue Origin NS-26">Blue Origin NS-26</a> </td> <td>Nicolina Elrick<br />Rob Ferl<br />Eugene Grin<br />Eiman Jahangir<br />Karsen Kitchen<br />Ephraim Rabin </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="13" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/35px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/46px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png 2x" data-file-width="69" data-file-height="39" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a> </td> <td>Eighth crewed Blue Origin flight </td></tr> <tr> <td>17 </td> <td>2024-11-22 </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Blue_Origin_NS-28" title="Blue Origin NS-28">Blue Origin NS-28</a> </td> <td>Henry (Hank) Wolfond<br />Austin Litteral<br />James (J.D.) Russell<br />Sharon Hagle<br />Marc Hagle<br /><a href="/wiki/Emily_Calandrelli" title="Emily Calandrelli">Emily Calandrelli</a> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="13" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/35px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png/46px-Flag_of_the_United_States_%2823px%29.png 2x" data-file-width="69" data-file-height="39" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a> </td> <td>Ninth crewed Blue Origin flight </td></tr></tbody></table> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Suborbital_spaceflight_timeline.svg"><img resource="/wiki/File:Suborbital_spaceflight_timeline.svg" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/Suborbital_spaceflight_timeline.svg/240px-Suborbital_spaceflight_timeline.svg.png" decoding="async" width="240" height="240" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/Suborbital_spaceflight_timeline.svg/360px-Suborbital_spaceflight_timeline.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/Suborbital_spaceflight_timeline.svg/480px-Suborbital_spaceflight_timeline.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="512" /></a><figcaption>Timeline of SpaceShipOne, SpaceShipTwo, CSXT and New Shepard sub-orbital flights. Where booster and capsule achieved different altitudes, the higher is plotted. In <a class="external text" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Suborbital_spaceflight_timeline.svg">the SVG file,</a> hover over a point to show details.</figcaption></figure> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Future_of_crewed_sub-orbital_spaceflight">Future of crewed sub-orbital spaceflight</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sub-orbital_spaceflight&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Future of crewed sub-orbital spaceflight"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><a href="/wiki/Private_companies" class="mw-redirect" title="Private companies">Private companies</a> such as <a href="/wiki/Virgin_Galactic" title="Virgin Galactic">Virgin Galactic</a>, <a href="/wiki/Armadillo_Aerospace" title="Armadillo Aerospace">Armadillo Aerospace</a> (reinvented as Exos Aerospace), <a href="/wiki/Airbus" title="Airbus">Airbus</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Blue_Origin" title="Blue Origin">Blue Origin</a> and <a href="/wiki/Masten_Space_Systems" title="Masten Space Systems">Masten Space Systems</a> are taking an interest in sub-orbital spaceflight, due in part to ventures like the Ansari X Prize. <a href="/wiki/National_Aeronautics_and_Space_Administration" class="mw-redirect" title="National Aeronautics and Space Administration">NASA</a> and others are experimenting with <a href="/wiki/Scramjet" title="Scramjet">scramjet</a>-based <a href="/wiki/Hypersonic" class="mw-redirect" title="Hypersonic">hypersonic</a> aircraft which may well be used with flight profiles that qualify as sub-orbital spaceflight. <a href="/wiki/Non-profit" class="mw-redirect" title="Non-profit">Non-profit</a> entities like <a href="/wiki/ARCASPACE" class="mw-redirect" title="ARCASPACE">ARCASPACE</a> and <a href="/wiki/Copenhagen_Suborbitals" title="Copenhagen Suborbitals">Copenhagen Suborbitals</a> also attempt <a href="/wiki/Rocket" title="Rocket">rocket</a>-based launches. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Suborbital_spaceflight_projects">Suborbital spaceflight projects</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sub-orbital_spaceflight&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: Suborbital spaceflight projects"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239009302">.mw-parser-output .portalbox{padding:0;margin:0.5em 0;display:table;box-sizing:border-box;max-width:175px;list-style:none}.mw-parser-output .portalborder{border:1px solid var(--border-color-base,#a2a9b1);padding:0.1em;background:var(--background-color-neutral-subtle,#f8f9fa)}.mw-parser-output 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srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/RocketSunIcon.svg/42px-RocketSunIcon.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/RocketSunIcon.svg/56px-RocketSunIcon.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></span></span></span><span class="portalbox-link"><a href="/wiki/Portal:Spaceflight" title="Portal:Spaceflight">Spaceflight portal</a></span></li></ul> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Canadian_Arrow" title="Canadian Arrow">Canadian Arrow</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/CORONA_(SSTO)" class="mw-redirect" title="CORONA (SSTO)">CORONA</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/DH-1_(rocket)" title="DH-1 (rocket)">DH-1 (rocket)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Interorbital_Systems" title="Interorbital Systems">Interorbital Systems</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lunar_Lander_Challenge" title="Lunar Lander Challenge">Lunar Lander Challenge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_DC-X" title="McDonnell Douglas DC-X">McDonnell Douglas DC-X</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Project_Morpheus" title="Project Morpheus">Project Morpheus</a> NASA program to continue developing ALHAT and Q landers</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Quad_(rocket)" title="Quad (rocket)">Quad (rocket)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Reusable_Vehicle_Testing" title="Reusable Vehicle Testing">Reusable Vehicle Testing</a> program by <a href="/wiki/JAXA" title="JAXA">JAXA</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rocketplane_XP" title="Rocketplane XP">Rocketplane XP</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/SpaceX_reusable_launch_system_development_program" title="SpaceX reusable launch system development program">SpaceX reusable launch system development program</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/XCOR_Lynx" title="XCOR Lynx">XCOR Lynx</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sub-orbital_spaceflight&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>Levels of spaceflight: Suborbital, <a href="/wiki/Orbital_spaceflight" title="Orbital spaceflight">orbital</a>, <a href="/wiki/Interplanetary_spaceflight" title="Interplanetary spaceflight">interplanetary</a>, <a href="/wiki/Interstellar_travel" title="Interstellar travel">interstellar</a> and <a href="/wiki/Intergalactic_travel" title="Intergalactic travel">intergalatic</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sub-orbital_spaceflight&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist 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data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output 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<li><a href="/wiki/List_of_spaceflight-related_accidents_and_incidents" title="List of spaceflight-related accidents and incidents">Accidents and incidents</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Space_launch" title="Space launch">Space launch</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Space_policy" title="Space policy">Space policy</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Space_programme_of_Australia" title="Category:Space programme of Australia">Australia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chinese_space_program" title="Chinese space program">China</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/European_Space_Agency_Science_Programme" title="European Space Agency Science Programme">European Space Agency</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/European_Union_Space_Programme" title="European Union Space Programme">European Union</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Indian_Space_Research_Organisation" class="mw-redirect" title="Indian Space Research Organisation">India</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Japanese_space_program" title="Japanese space program">Japan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Roscosmos" title="Roscosmos">Russia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_space_program" title="Soviet space program">Soviet Union</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Space_policy_of_the_United_States" title="Space policy of the United States">United States</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Space_law" title="Space law">Space law</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Outer_Space_Treaty" title="Outer Space Treaty">Outer Space Treaty</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rescue_Agreement" title="Rescue Agreement">Rescue Agreement</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Space_Liability_Convention" title="Space Liability Convention">Space Liability Convention</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Registration_Convention" title="Registration Convention">Registration Convention</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Moon_Treaty" title="Moon Treaty">Moon Treaty</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Space_warfare" title="Space warfare">Space warfare</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Space_command" title="Space command">Space command</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Space_force" title="Space force">Space force</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Militarisation_of_space" title="Militarisation of space">Militarisation of space</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Private_spaceflight" title="Private spaceflight">Private spaceflight</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Billionaire_space_race" title="Billionaire space race">Billionaire space race</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Outline_of_space_science" title="Outline of space science">Applications</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Astronomy" title="Astronomy">Astronomy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Earth_observation_satellite" title="Earth observation satellite">Earth observation</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Remote_sensing_(archaeology)" class="mw-redirect" title="Remote sensing (archaeology)">Archaeology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Satellite_imagery" title="Satellite imagery">Imagery and mapping</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Reconnaissance_satellite" title="Reconnaissance satellite">Reconnaissance</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Weather_satellite" title="Weather satellite">Weather and environment monitoring</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Communications_satellite" title="Communications satellite">Communications satellite</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Satellite_Internet_access" title="Satellite Internet access">Internet</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Satellite_radio" title="Satellite radio">Radio</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Satellite_phone" title="Satellite phone">Telephone</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Satellite_television" title="Satellite television">Television</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Satellite_navigation" title="Satellite navigation">Satellite navigation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Commercial_use_of_space" title="Commercial use of space">Commercial use of space</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Space_launch_market_competition" title="Space launch market competition">Space launch market competition</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Space_architecture" title="Space architecture">Space architecture</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Space_exploration" title="Space exploration">Space exploration</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Space_research" title="Space research">Space research</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Space_technology" title="Space technology">Space technology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Space_weather" title="Space weather">Space weather</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Human_spaceflight" title="Human spaceflight">Human spaceflight</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align: center;">General</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Astronaut" title="Astronaut">Astronaut</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Commercial_astronaut" title="Commercial astronaut">commercial</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Life-support_system" title="Life-support system">Life-support system</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Animals_in_space" title="Animals in space">Animals in space</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bioastronautics" title="Bioastronautics">Bioastronautics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Space_suit" title="Space suit">Space suit</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Extravehicular_activity" title="Extravehicular activity">Extravehicular activity</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Overview_effect" title="Overview effect">Overview effect</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Weightlessness" title="Weightlessness">Weightlessness</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Space_toilet" title="Space toilet">Space toilet</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Space_tourism" title="Space tourism">Space tourism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Space_colonization" title="Space colonization">Space colonization</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Space_diving" title="Space diving">Space diving</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align: center;">Programs</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Vostok_programme" title="Vostok programme">Vostok</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Project_Mercury" title="Project Mercury">Mercury</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Voskhod_programme" title="Voskhod programme">Voskhod</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Project_Gemini" title="Project Gemini">Gemini</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Soyuz_programme" title="Soyuz programme">Soyuz</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Apollo_program" title="Apollo program">Apollo</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Skylab" title="Skylab">Skylab</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Apollo%E2%80%93Soyuz" title="Apollo–Soyuz">Apollo–Soyuz</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Space_Shuttle_program" title="Space Shuttle program">Space Shuttle</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mir" title="Mir">Mir</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Shuttle%E2%80%93Mir_program" title="Shuttle–Mir program">Shuttle–Mir</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_Space_Station" title="International Space Station">International Space Station</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/China_Manned_Space_Program" title="China Manned Space Program">Shenzhou</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tiangong_program" title="Tiangong program">Tiangong</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/New_Shepard" title="New Shepard">New Shepard</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Artemis_program" title="Artemis program">Artemis</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align: center;">Health issues</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Effect_of_spaceflight_on_the_human_body" title="Effect of spaceflight on the human body">Effect of spaceflight on the human body</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Space_adaptation_syndrome" title="Space adaptation syndrome">Space adaptation syndrome</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Health_threat_from_cosmic_rays" class="mw-redirect" title="Health threat from cosmic rays">Health threat from cosmic rays</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Space_psychology" title="Space psychology">Space psychology</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Psychological_and_sociological_effects_of_spaceflight" title="Psychological and sociological effects of spaceflight">Psychological and sociological effects</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Space_and_survival" title="Space and survival">Space and survival</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Space_medicine" title="Space medicine">Space medicine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Space_nursing" title="Space nursing">Space nursing</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Space_sexology" title="Space sexology">Space sexology</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Spacecraft" title="Spacecraft">Spacecraft</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Launch_vehicle" title="Launch vehicle">Launch vehicle</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rocket" title="Rocket">Rocket</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Space_capsule" title="Space capsule">Space capsule</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Orbital_module" title="Orbital module">Orbital module</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Reentry_capsule" title="Reentry capsule">Reentry capsule</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Service_module" title="Service module">Service module</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Spaceplane" title="Spaceplane">Spaceplane</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Robotic_spacecraft" class="mw-redirect" title="Robotic spacecraft">Robotic spacecraft</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Satellite" title="Satellite">Satellite</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Space_probe" class="mw-redirect" title="Space probe">Space probe</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lander_(spacecraft)" title="Lander (spacecraft)">Lander</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rover_(space_exploration)" title="Rover (space exploration)">Rover</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Self-replicating_spacecraft" title="Self-replicating spacecraft">Self-replicating spacecraft</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Space_telescope" title="Space telescope">Space telescope</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Spacecraft_propulsion" title="Spacecraft propulsion">Spacecraft propulsion</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Rocket_engine" title="Rocket engine">Rocket engine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Spacecraft_electric_propulsion" title="Spacecraft electric propulsion">Electric propulsion</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Solar_sail" title="Solar sail">Solar sail</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gravity_assist" title="Gravity assist">Gravity assist</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:1%">Destinations</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Sub-orbital</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Orbital_spaceflight" title="Orbital spaceflight">Orbital</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Geocentric_orbit" title="Geocentric orbit">Geocentric</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geosynchronous_orbit" title="Geosynchronous orbit">Geosynchronous</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Interplanetary_spaceflight" title="Interplanetary spaceflight">Interplanetary</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Interstellar_travel" title="Interstellar travel">Interstellar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Intergalactic_travel" title="Intergalactic travel">Intergalactic</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Space_launch" title="Space launch">Space launch</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Direct_ascent" title="Direct ascent">Direct ascent</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Escape_velocity" title="Escape velocity">Escape velocity</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Expendable_launch_system" title="Expendable launch system">Expendable</a> and <a href="/wiki/Reusable_launch_vehicle" title="Reusable launch vehicle">reusable launch systems</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Launch_pad" title="Launch pad">Launch pad</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Non-rocket_spacelaunch" title="Non-rocket spacelaunch">Non-rocket spacelaunch</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Spaceport" title="Spaceport">Spaceport</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Ground_segment" title="Ground segment">Ground segment</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Flight_controller" title="Flight controller">Flight controller</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ground_station" title="Ground station">Ground station</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Orbital_pass" title="Orbital pass">Pass</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mission_control_center" title="Mission control center">Mission control center</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"><div> <ul><li> <span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span title="Category"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/16px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="16" 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