By Jonathan Amos
Science correspondent, BBC News

Airbus has released pictures of the recent "drop test" it conducted for its spaceplane concept.

The one-quarter-scale demonstrator was released from a height of 3,000m to learn more about how a real vehicle might behave as it returned to Earth.

The Airbus project has been on a slow burn since being announced in 2007.

If it were ever to go into production, the plane would be aimed at the tourism market, to take passengers on short hops above the atmosphere.

The drop test took place in May, just off the coast of Singapore and was supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board.



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more: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-27686906