Ascender Spaceplane (sub-orbital Aeroplane) is designed to carry Space Tourist (passengers) on Space Experience Flights and is a competitor in the X-Prize Competion. Space Tourists will experience two minutes in a weightless environment and will have the opportunity to view the Earth below. Ascender is being designed by Bristol Spaceplanes.

Flight Procedure:

Ascender will take off on a conventional runway utilizing its conventional jet engines. It will climb at subsonic speed to an altitude of 8 Km (26,000 feet). The flight crew will then turn off the jet engines and ignite the rocket engine. Ascender will then pulled up into a steep climb until its rocket fuel is depleted. At that point, Ascender will be travelling at a speed of Mach 2.8. It will then coast on a ballistic sub-orbital trajectory to a maximum altitude of 100km. Ascender will then folllow a ballistic descent back to Earth. Ascender will then return to the same runway. The total flight will take around 30 minutes. 

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