Is it a Plane? Is it a Rocket? Rocketplane maybe

Structural engineer Derrick Seys carefully draws lines and arrows on the outside of an aging Lear Jet, which resemble the markings doctors place on patients being prepped for surgery. His crew will splice together the bodies of two other jets to add 20 inches of length. The extra room will accommodate kerosene and liquid-oxygen tanks, which will power a 36,000-pound-thrust rocket engine they plan to stick up the plane’s tail. The rocket engine, plus an all-new delta-wing assembly taking shape on a scaffold beside the fuselage, will turn this former Lear 25—once a high-flying chariot for business execs—into an even higher-flying spaceship. Check out the plans for Rocketplane's first mission