Jet's can get 10 miles up with minimal difficulty. The problem with getting into space is you need to get 10 miles then go another 200 miles up and accelerate to mach 22.

PS: The record for a jet is 23.4 miles up, here is a good visual scale for LEO. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Orbitalal... Note: The ISS still has to burn a fair amount of fuel to stay in orbit, but it's reasonable.