Spaceplanes - The Ultimate Journey

Every other Wednesday we present a new video, so join us to see the truth laid bare...

This is a vision of the future, a Maglev launch system that will transport ordinary people to the edge of space, and back again. This spacecraft will open the universe to all, it’s a dream of those who will design and build the next generation of space planes.

In the very near future space tourism will become an everyday activity, the corridors of space will become as busy as the airways of today. The environment surrounding our Earth will become the largest construction site ever. Dozens of space stations will orbit our planet, these weightless cities will launch and maintain thousands of communications satellites and provide a stepping stone for deep space exploration. A fleet of commercial spaceplanes will transport passengers and cargo quickly and cheaply. As more and more spaceplanes ferry components up from Earth for use in space we will build larger and more complex space stations, floating gateways to the universe.

But is the future already here?

A spaceplane is a vehicle that operates as an aircraft in Earth's atmosphere, as well as a spacecraft when it is in space. It combines features of an aircraft and a spacecraft, which can be thought of as an aircraft that can endure and manoeuvre in the vacuum of space or likewise a spacecraft that can fly like an airplane. The spaceflight is then followed by an unpowered glide return to landing. Only five spaceplanes have successfully flown to date, having reentered Earth's atmosphere, returned to Earth, and safely landed, the X-15, Space Shuttle, Buran, SpaceShipOne, and X-37. All five are rocket gliders, only rockets and rocket-powered aircraft have thus far succeeded in reaching space.

[MakeItWithCalvin]

I grew up watching this stuff on TV back when TLC was "the learning channel" and Extreme Machines was still being shown. Brings back a ton of memories! 

[josephglatz]

I remember seeing this on Discovery Wings when I was a kid. I was so stoked whenever it came on.

[michaelszczys]

I’ve been watching the ISS go overhead for over 15 years. One time there were two of them close together. One was the Shuttle. One of the last flights

[chillenchilla]

need more stuff like this x-15 and other early space planes as well

[Jorge]

I've learned and seen more about the space shuttle from this 20 year old documentary than anything else until this day. Best documentary series ever (Extreme Machines). This was my favorite I always looked forward to watching.

[emmanichol]

I’m reading a book about anti gravity I can’t seem to put it down!! 😂

[myfavoritemartian]

A true Space Plane would take off from a runway also! Rocket powered is OK.
The shuttle was not reusable, it was refurbishable at a great cost. The tiles were not dependable. It was susceptible to damage. (easily damaged)
The shuttle killed more people than any other launch system the US has ever used.
The shuttle was a pork barrel project everyone approved of because the manufacturing money was spread around the country.
If the Saturn 5 was kept in service, as materials got better and computers developed, it could have evolved into a reusable, economical launch platform.
And we never would have surrendered our Space leadership. (except for corrupt, crooked, short sighted selfish politicians- The American public never lost our Space interest as they like to broadcast. We were victimized by the Industrial Military complex and greed.)

[BugSplat]

Imagine watching this in 100 Years! :)

[samanli-twid]

It’s 2021 and a real spaceplane is yet to be flown.

[hectorkeezy]

And along came Space-X, and taught every space agency a lesson..

[bruce]

Whoa homey this is gotta be some early 90s stuff LOL

[robvilla]

At 43:20 the narrator said the SRBs were as tall as the Washington monument? The Washington monument is 555 ft tall. The SRBs are 149 feet tall. Just a little off on that fact!!!

[ableland]

After getting out of the Air Force serving as a electron tech I went into the tv repair business. I was at a tv repair call watching the launch I saw the shuttle blow up. I will always remember that.

[ghostman]

Damm i saw this before you tube was invented.

[davidvonch]

I was reading a popular science magazine at the VA hosptial about 9 yrs ago and a smaller version of this ship was shown and had an interesting article. In the same same magazine they were playing in the military with headgear that would mentally send messages to allies during wartime.

[Cybernaut]

1900: We'll have flying cars in the future
1981: Lo, and Behold! The Space Shuttle.

[Zoomer]

Wow, those clips of the Shuttle liftoffs were intercut with scenes from FRF engine tests (you can tell because the OMS engine nozzles have white covers on them.)

[sycodeathman]

DC-X was a program competing with the X-33, which itself was the predecessor to Venture Star.

DC-X had nothing to do with the Venture Star program, which should be apparent in their completely different designs.

[DJenser]

44:44 I remember standing on the football field of my middle school in Florida that morning, watching this unfold before my eyes. Me and about 50 other kids at P.E. stood completely silent with our mouths hanging open for about 5 minutes, trying to make sense of what we'd seen. There was a weird sense of unreality about it that I couldn't shake for the rest of that day.

[guyfaulkes]

Wow - a doc about space flight from the 1990s. Making predictions that are totally off-base.