35,000 feet isn’t that high ... i assume the value of this super-plane is its payload capacity ... too bad the horribly written CNN article doesn’t mention that factoid.... maybe the writer thinks 35,000 feet is REALLY high and that’s impressive enough ... i am, however, reassured that the plane will land “safely” when it returns from its mission; I’d really hate to think that the plan was for the plane to land un-safely ...
35,000 feet is “max Q” for a rocket launch. Takes tremendous force to get to that point, and rocket must be built to withstand maximum pressures there. Being able to _launch_ at that point saves a LOT of fuel & structural costs.