Editing Sub-orbital spaceflight (section)

{{short description|Spaceflight where the spacecraft does not go into orbit}}
[[File:Riding on a Sounding Rocket.webm|thumb|Video of sub-orbital spaceflight of [[Black Brant IX]] sounding rocket]]
{| class="wikitable floatright" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Sub-orbital human spaceflight ([[Fédération Aéronautique Internationale|FAI]]-defined [[space border]])
|-
! Name !! Year !! Flights  !! Location
|-
| [[Mercury-Redstone 3]] <br /> [[Mercury-Redstone 4]] || 1961 || 2 || [[Cape Canaveral]]
|-
| [[X-15 Flight 90]] <br /> [[X-15 Flight 91]] || 1963 || 2 || [[Edwards AFB]]
|-
| [[Soyuz 18a]] || 1975 || 1 || [[Baikonur Cosmodrome]]
|-
| [[SpaceShipOne flight 15P|SpaceShipOne Flight 15P]]<br /> [[SpaceShipOne flight 16P|SpaceShipOne Flight 16P]]<br /> [[SpaceShipOne flight 17P|SpaceShipOne Flight 17P]] || 2004 || 3 || [[Mojave Air and Space Port]]
|-
| [[Blue Origin NS-16]]<ref name=sn20210720>{{cite news |url=https://spacenews.com/blue-origin-launches-bezos-on-first-crewed-new-shepard-flight/ |title=Blue Origin launches Bezos on first crewed New Shepard flight |last=Foust|first=Jeff |work=[[SpaceNews]] |date=20 July 2021 |access-date=20 Jul 2021 }}</ref><br /> [[Blue Origin NS-18]]<br /> [[Blue Origin NS-19]] || 2021 || 3 || rowspan="4" | [[Corn Ranch]]
|-
| [[Blue Origin NS-20]]<br /> [[Blue Origin NS-21]]
[[Blue Origin NS-22]]
| 2022 || 3
|-
|[[Blue Origin NS-25]]<br /> [[Blue Origin NS-26]]<br /> [[Blue Origin NS-28]]
|2024
|3
|-
|[[Blue Origin NS-30]]<br>[[Blue Origin NS-31]]<br>[[Blue Origin NS-32]]
|2025 || 3
|}

{| class="wikitable floatright" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Sub-orbital human spaceflight (United States-defined [[space border]]; excluding those above)
|-
! Name !! Year !! Flights  !! Location
|-
| [[X-15 Flight 62]] || 1962 || 1 ||rowspan="6" | [[Edwards AFB]]
|-
| [[North American X-15#Highest flights|X-15 Flight 77]] <br /> [[X-15 Flight 87]] || 1963 || 2
|-
| [[North American X-15#Highest flights|X-15 Flight 138]] <br /> [[North American X-15#Highest flights|X-15 Flight 143]] <br /> [[North American X-15#Highest flights|X-15 Flight 150]] <br /> [[North American X-15#Highest flights|X-15 Flight 153]] || 1965 || 4
|-
| [[North American X-15#Highest flights|X-15 Flight 174]] || 1966 || 1
|-
| [[North American X-15#Highest flights|X-15 Flight 190]] <br /> [[X-15 Flight 3-65-97|X-15 Flight 191]] || 1967 || 2
|-
| [[North American X-15#Highest flights|X-15 Flight 197]] || 1968 || 1
|-
| [[Soyuz MS-10]] || 2018 || 1 || [[Baikonur Cosmodrome]]
|-
| [[VSS Unity VP-03|VSS ''Unity'' VP-03]] || 2018 || 1 ||rowspan="2" | [[Mojave Air and Space Port]]
|-
| [[VSS Unity VF-01|VSS ''Unity'' VF-01]] || 2019 || 1
|-
|[[VSS Unity Unity21|VSS ''Unity'' Unity21]]<br />[[Virgin Galactic Unity 22|VSS ''Unity'' Unity22]]
|2021
|2
|[[Spaceport America]]
|-
|[[Virgin Galactic Unity 25|VSS ''Unity'' Unity25]]<br />[[Galactic 01]]<br />[[Galactic 02]]<br />[[Galactic 03]]<br />[[Galactic 04]]<br />[[Galactic 05]]
|2023
|6
|[[Spaceport America]]
|-
|[[Galactic 06]]<br />[[Galactic 07]]
|2024
|2
|[[Spaceport America]]
|}

A '''sub-orbital spaceflight''' is a [[spaceflight]] in which the [[spacecraft]] reaches [[outer space]], but its [[trajectory]] intersects the surface of the [[primary (astronomy)|gravitating body]] from which it was launched. Hence, it will not complete one [[orbit]]al revolution, will not become an [[artificial satellite]] nor will it reach [[escape velocity]].

For example, the path of an object launched from [[Earth]] that reaches the [[Kármán line]] (about {{cvt|83|km|mi|0|disp=sqbr}} – {{cvt|100|km|mi|0|disp=sqbr}}<ref>{{Cite journal | url=https://scholar.smu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1126&context=jalc | title=The Vertical Limit of State Sovereignty | journal=Journal of Air Law and Commerce | volume=72 | issue=1 | first=Dean N. | last=Reinhardt | year=2007 }}</ref> above [[sea level]]), and then falls back to Earth, is considered a sub-orbital spaceflight. Some sub-orbital flights have been undertaken to test spacecraft and [[launch vehicle]]s later intended for [[orbital spaceflight]]. Other vehicles are specifically designed only for sub-orbital flight; examples include crewed vehicles, such as the [[North American X-15|X-15]] and [[SpaceShipTwo]], and uncrewed ones, such as [[intercontinental ballistic missile|ICBMs]] and [[sounding rocket]]s.

Flights which attain sufficient velocity to go into [[low Earth orbit]], and then [[de-orbit]] before completing their first full orbit, are not considered sub-orbital. Examples of this include flights of the [[Fractional Orbital Bombardment System]].

A flight that does not reach space is still sometimes called sub-orbital, but cannot officially be classified as a "sub-orbital spaceflight". Usually a rocket is used, but some experimental sub-orbital spaceflights have also been achieved via the use of [[space gun]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.astronautix.com/fam/martlet.htm |title=Martlet |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100926022558/http://www.astronautix.com/fam/martlet.htm |archive-date=2010-09-26}}</ref>