The rocket plane may fulfil some of its goals before it even gets off the ground, by whipping up interest in commercial space flight.

这艘火箭飞机（rocket plane）可能会激起人们对商业太空飞行的兴趣，因此甚至在它飞离地面之前，就可以实现自己的一些目标。

youdao

There were new designs for the plane's rocket engine, landing equipment and the small rockets needed to move it in space.

VOA: special.2010.07.07

His first rocket plane flight in the Bell X-1B experienced a nose gear failure on landing.

FORBES: Neil Armstrong's Immortal Footprint

California's XCOR Aerospace, for instance, is building the Lynx rocket plane, which will also carry passengers and payloads.

WSJ: The Weekend Interview with Richard Branson: Space��The Next Business Frontier

He flew the X-15 rocket plane to the edge of space - 200, 000 feet up at 4, 000 mph.

MSN: First man on moon Neil Armstrong dead at 82