You will address one of the following topics:

1. Before current manned suborbital projects, several suborbital flights occured in the past. They stand out aeronautical and space history as landmarks:
   • You will focus on one particular manned flight, explaining your choice. You will study on a systemic way the flight context (technical, historical, social, media, political, ...). You will, especially, show consequences the flight may have had on the different domains.
   • Note that any flight targeting the altitude of 80 kilometers will be taken into account. Flights that are not recognized as suborbital can be accepted provided you explain your choice.

Or

2. List all intercontinental suborbital vehicles. Describe concepts (technologies, missions, etc..), try to put them in categories (from an historical point of view) and explain the reasons why those military or civil transportation means did not emerge yet.

Or

3. Describe the main aborted projects related to manned suborbital vehicle over 1998-2002 period (mostly for the XPrize competition) and explain the reasons for which they were abandoned.

You will pay attention to study of different information sources, particularly to their reliability (Main original sources can be given as examples).

General characteristics of reference vehicles:
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