Forget Rocket Fuel: This Spaceplane Will Use Microwave Beams To Reach Orbit

"The extraordinary opportunities that this system can open fully justify solving the technical challenges in front of us."
Over half a century after the dawn of the space age, getting to space remains an epic challenge. Twice this
year, the first stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket met a fiery end on the Atlantic Ocean—both attempts to recover and reuse rockets to reduce launch costs. A
third rocket never made orbit, exploding on ascent.