The hypersonic revolution : Space tech meets aviation

SART researchers at the Institute of Space Systems in Bremen, Germany, have come up with the SpaceLiner concept. This hypersonic jet would be made up of a booster and a passenger stage, which separate after being propelled into the mesophere. 

Hypersonic means speeds of Mach 5 or over, or more than five times the speed of sound. Supersonic is Mach 1, or the speed of sound.

Since the withdrawal of the Concorde in 2003, commercial aviation has remained purely subsonic, but that could change in the coming decades.

Take new aircraft concepts like the Japanese HYTEX, capable of speeds of Mach 5, or the European Lapcat-II, expected to reach Mach 8.

Then there's the nascent space tourism industry, with companies such as Virgin Galactic and XCOR Aerospace hoping to take a select few on leisure trips to the edge of space.