In addition to rocket and air-breathing propulsion work involving combustion, NASA is beginning to test concepts such as magnetic levitation (MagLev) systems that could hurtle future reusable launch vehicles off their pads with ground-based electrical fields.
NASA MagLev testing is to enter a major new phase next spring. The use of a MagLev launch-assist track would reduce the vehicle size and propellant needed to place a payload in orbit. The work is underway at Marshall Space Flight Center and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
By using a MagLev track to provide the initial 400-600
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