– could the space shuttle just fly into space like a plane, rather than being propelled vertically by rockets?
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I am not sure if by your question you are inquiring about the direction of propulsion (vertical vs horizontal) or means of propulsion (rocket, jet, or propeller)… or even if it’s the actual lift caused by the wing shape?
I’m not an engineer, just someone who grasps physics fairly well. A lot of responses focus on things like lift and air-resistance. These things are of no consequence in orbital mechanics. Orbits, and escaping orbits, is speed and direction (even direction can become very confusing when you lose points of reference).
Once above the atmosphere your speed determines your orbit. Going faster in a perpendicular direction to the radius, means orbiting higher. That’s it. Slow down, you drop, speed up=higher orbit.
I will assume your question is theoretical and refers to propelling horizontally versus vertically (simply because so much has been said about the rest already)? You could, in theory, get into space by propelling a plane horizontally. You will, however, have to propel it REALLY fast. If you have a plane that can push 7 miles per second, horizontally, you’ll be able to escape earth’s gravity. You would have to maintain that speed long enough to push through the atmosphere. The only method of propulsion we currently have capable of the would be solid fuel rockets.
A propeler would have to be made out of adamantium, or some other magical material to withstand the speed it would need to turn at in order to get to these speeds. Same for jets. I’d even add that we would need all sorts of magical materials and propellents, because fire in an engine does not burn fast enough. And, on top of that, these means of propulsion rely on atmosphere to create the push. So you could accelerate in atmosphere, but once out, whatever speed you’re at will remain constant. Wings would be somewhat useful, but not so much for lift, more for steering.
There is one technology far out on the horizon that might be able to, oblique wave detonation engine. Basically your propellent is exploding, in a controlled manner, instead of burning… but one continuous explosion. You could have a plane powered like this, that would need little wings to aim it, but once you get fast enough the wings would become less and less useful.
Other people have covered lift and drag, so, no, you can’t fly a plane into space because the plane needs air to lift it up. It would be like swimming 1 foot above a swimming pool. Try lying on a surfboard of some type, and “swim” in the air. Use the same motion but not in the water.
People have also covered how it is more fuel economical to take off vertically with rockets. However with a magical propellent, a rocket could be flown out into space like a plane.
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