On release, SS2 will then ignite a rocket engine to climb to a maximum altitude of about 361, 000ft (110km).

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Under the Hood: The Altitude model is equipped with a 5.6 liter V8 engine and a six-speed transmission.

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As the aircraft ran out of altitude and options, gliding with a broken windshield and no engine power, the crew made visual contact with the ground and spotted a straight section of a rural highway below.

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The golf-course plane, a single-engine Cessna 172, was flying west at an altitude of 3, 500 feet when the second plane, also a Cessna 172, approached from the east after leaving Santa Monica Airport for a test flight.

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This flies so low to make its maps that it must continually fire its ion engine to counteract the wisps of atmosphere still present at an altitude of 260km.

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With a failed right engine and a malfunctioning left engine that was not generating sufficient thrust, the aircraft quickly lost altitude.

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