The product of this updated technology is Radian One, a new space plane that will replace vertical launch with a very unusual system — a rocket-powered sled.
Wasted internships
To escape Earth's gravity and reach orbit, a rocket needs to reach a speed of about 28,000 km/h, according to Jeffrey Hoffman, a professor of aeronautics and astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a former NASA astronaut who flew on five Space Shuttle missions.