Why is it a rocket🚀 is used to go straight up into outer space and not just use an airplane ✈️ ? I’m sure there is a good reason but it seems that the gradual assent would be preferred over the straight up approach.
In: Engineering
Airplanes can get into space – what we define as being over 100 km in altitude. It first happened in 1963 by the X-15 craft.
However, getting into **orbit** is completely different. That requires speeds above 17,000 mph, which is far faster than any conventional aircraft can achieve. The X-15 maxed out under 5,000 mph.
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