Simplest explanation is a Kiyosaki cash grab / promoted placement 
 
0 revenue and it doesn't make sense conceptually, anyone making hypersonics is already in aerospace and doesn't need to sub out to their old planes

That's the kind of pushback I was hoping to get. I know very little about launch engineering, so I've been reading up on this as I go.

The 45,000-foot advantage sounded significant to me initially, but your point about altitude versus actually reaching orbital velocity makes sense.

It makes me wonder if the real opportunity here isn't competing with SpaceX on cost/kg at all, but something more niche like rapid-response launches or hypersonic testing.

Definitely need to dig into this one more.

JRem

Is this a brilliant niche strategy or another cool space concept that never becomes a viable business?

The latter, payload size would be extremely limited so the cost-per-kg can't get nearly as low as a rideshare

45k feet is a rounding error too, first stages go 50-100 miles up

Stacker_Stocks

Robert Kiyosaki's $4 “Shadow SpaceX” using fighter jets to launch rockets

> Is this a brilliant niche strategy or another cool space concept that never becomes a viable business?

The latter, payload size would be extremely limited so the cost-per-kg can't get nearly as low as a rideshare

45k feet is a rounding error too, first stages go 50-100 miles up