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Depending on the aircraft’s velocity (how fast it is traveling), flying from California to the United Kingdom by standard plane would be much slower than taking an aircraft into space first (sub-orbital flight) then flying over to the United Kingdom. Suborbital flight happens when an aircraft reaches space but does not complete one full orbit around the Earth. While the aircraft is in suborbital flight, it is able to use the Earth’s gravitational pull in order increase the aircraft’s thrust. Due to the lack of air in space, there is also a lack of drag. This means the aircraft would have a minimal amount of force pushing against it and slowing the aircraft down.