Remo watched the Beechcraft enlarge from a dot to a winged vehicle, going low over the Caribbean to decrease chances of detection.

The first sketches of a winged vehicle were made around 1984.

Lockheed Martin stated that they are trying to create a lower-cost-to-orbit cargo service, using a winged vehicle launched atop a land-based rocket.

Engle is the only human being to have flown two different types of winged vehicles in space, the X-15 and the Space Shuttle.

Afterwards, Walker told reporters "there is no question that we can put a winged vehicle in orbit and land it".

Orion is Apollo-like, not a lifting body or winged vehicle like the now retired Shuttle.

The X-37, a six-ton winged vehicle that is 27.5 feet long, was to have been sent into orbit in 2003 but has faced a variety of obstacles.

Teams are looking at multiple possible designs, including winged vehicles or capsules; a decision on full-scale development is expected late next year.

"But our ancestors did not arrive in winged vehicles with propellers," the Chosen general said with a sigh.