Airbus is looking to a future faster than the speed of sound as it filed another patent intended to help aircraft fly supersonically.
Details have emerged of a application filed in the US by the pan-European aerospace company for a design of a spaceplane capable of taking off and landing like a normal aircraft but able to fly at supersonic speeds at altitudes "of at least 100 kilometres".
In the summer The Telegraph reported how Airbus had filed an application for a new supersonic jet - nicknamed "son of Concorde" - that would be able to fly at four times the speed of sound, cutting the flight time from London to New York to just an hour.
The most recent patent envisions a spaceplane with traditional jet engines that will be switched off as vehicle approaches space, with rockets then taking over.
To reduce drag, Airbus has applied for a patent for retractable flaps that move in front of the jet engines when they are not in use to make the aircraft more streamlined.
Website Patent Yogi has released a video showing how the latest application would work in conjunction with Airbus's other ideas.
To read more and view the video, click here.