Can a commercial jet fly into space?

No, commercial jets are not built to travel through our atmosphere and into space. It would either freeze up or burn into cinders.

It would be the coming back into the atmosphere that was the problem.

Don’t forget coffee. You’d definitely run out of coffee

I always thought that the the airplane would explode when it hit vacuum due to the pressure difference between the inside of the plane and outer space.

The engines need oxygen to combust and will run out of oxygen before reaching space.
It was speculated that Chuck Yeager flew out of the atmosphere,lost control,ejected and his experimental plane crashed.
Chuck Yeager was wacky

If by “space” you mean beyond the atmosphere, then no. The altitude record for any jet-powered craft is 37,650 meters, and that was in a MIG fighter. At that height, it was still well within the stratosphere. You’ve still got a whole lot of atmosphere to go.

The problem, as @lucillelucillelucille points out, is that jets rely on atmospheric oxygen. Yeager was flying rocket planes.

Long before the jet reached space, the engines would stall out.
Yeager (who only lost that one plane in his career) might have done it, but in an experimental jet whose design was scrapped before it was mass produced.

It’s been done by a chap called Terner though not in a commercial plane. He managed to fly to Mars and back.

No it can’t. It’s engines need the oxygen to operate and cannot generate enough thrust to launch it into sub orbital flight.

There is, however, a commercial spacecraft developed by Virgin Galactic that has had a successful test flight and is currently offering tickets for $200K per seat.

No.
Engines require oxygen to function, wich becomes exceedingly rare with increasing height.

Also, I imagine that the lack of lift at higher altitudes do to lower air density is a problem, too.

It would be theoretically possible if one was designed to generate enough thrust though. But I guess that’s just a rocket.

don’t judge me

If you have a big enough catapult.

@noelleptc will there be a swimsuit competition?

Even assuming the engines could work without oxygen, the wings provide lift to the plane. If there is no air, the wings can’t provide any lift.

@Rarebear
If it’s pointing straight upwards, it doesn’t need to make use of lift. The engines will make it go up.

@The_Idler
But then it would be a rocket, and besides, even ignoring the oxygen issues, no jet engine delivers the necessesary thrust to achieve escape velocity

The jet engines cannot reach escape velocity, and require oxygen to run. Also, the wings need airflow across them to provide lift.

@The_Idler The question was about a commercial jet, not a rocket. Commercial jets don’t fly straight upward.

In order to break earth’s gravity you have to be going at a speed of 7 mi/ sec or 25200mi/ hr. So no

The oxygen would be way too thin before you got anywhere near going into space, plus it would be too cold and the jet engine would fail at a certain altitude.

@noelleptc In case you don’t understand yet, I’ll reiterate: no, a jet cannot get into outer space. Please read the other responses to your question.

Think about the oxygen too.

Let’s say we have rocket boosters so we can get around the problem of no oxygen for the engines. Reentry might be a problem, esp. since aluminum is only good to 350°F. A jetliner would have other problems:
The engines normally pump in air for passengers to breathe. No engines, no fresh air. Now we have to add air tanks.

Jets are designed for flying at around 35,000 ft. Air pressure is about 3.5 psi outside, but about 10 psi inside so people can breathe. Delta P is 6.5 psi. Go into space and delta P is 10 psi – maybe not a big deal since engineers always design with extra margin. The lubricants in the engine may not like vacuum, so might evaporate. That would be bad for the engines.

Jets need air running across wings and tail to control attitude. No air, no control. SpaceShipOne had a slight problem when it left the atmosphere – it spun like crazy! I think SpaceShipTwo will have little control rockets to prevent that.

It’s really cold in space (shade side), but also cold at 35,000 ft, so no big deal for passengers – Wear jackets. The grease in the engines would freeze. That would make it difficult to restart on the way down. Same for hydraulic fluid for the controls. Sunlight is very intense, so it could get hot on the Sun side. White paint will help.

Radiation – part of the ride.

SpaceShipTwo:
http://www.virgingalactic.com/overview/spaceships/

Yes, I’ve done it before.

Just so people know, the picture on @RocketGuy‘s avatar is a drawing of a satellite he designed.

now following @RocketGuy

@cockswain As well you should! He’s the only guy I know who solved the Rubiks Cube on his own.

I’ve been working on a simple circuit at work and haven’t yet solved it. Maybe he can give me a quick hand

@cockswain I have no doubt he could. PM him. We went backpacking a couple of years ago and we spent hours talking about the more esoteric aspects of satellite physics

awesome, I’m doing it. I’m just happy I drew my first schematic, flaws and all

@Rarebear – at the time I was too poor to buy the Rubik’s book, so had to figure it out on my own. Poverty was a great motivator. I still remember how you pointed out that our family income put us below the poverty line. Never took it the wrong way, though. Just gave me an income level to beat.

It’s pretty simple, no air, no jet engine, no air no lift for the wings. A commercial jet turns into a rock or coffin.

The real truth: no, it can’t.

@noelleptc It can.

@Ron_C Or both.

@RocketGuy Did I really say that? Boy, what a jerk.

@Rarebear – I never took offense: it was stating the obvious, and you and I did mostly low budget activities so money never was an issue.

I hope this turns into an Oprah moment

@noelleptc – hee hee, good point. At least it’s not Barbara Walters – we’d both be crying.

I’ve known RB since high school – decades ago. He was the Kirk (with the girls), I was the Spock (with the science).

Does RB speak in halting sentences?