Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Rocketplane XP
Rocketplane XP is a modified Lear Jet 25 series being built and used by Rocketplane Limited, Inc. for space tourism and microgravity research. Once the first of two planned rocketplanes becomes operational in 2007, tickets into suborbital space would cost about $150,000, including four minutes of weightlessness and an apogee of over 100 kilometers. The Lear Jet fuselage remains relatively untouched, but the wings, the elevators and tail, and obviously the rocket are different. The original Lear Jet General Electric CJ-610 engines will be used for takeoff and attaining stratospheric altitude, at which point they will be turned off and a rocket engine bought from Orbital Technologies Corporation will ignite. After reentry, the regular engines will again become operational and allow the Lear Jet to land regularly.
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