In fact, on July 19, 1963, Joseph Albert Walker flew an X-15 rocket plane to an altitude of 105,900m, or more than 100km, past the Kárman line, i.e. into outer space. Compare that to the Indian flight mentioned in this article, which reached an altitude of 65km. In other words, the US had a reuseable space-capable launch vehicle 50 years ago.
