The view of a rust-colored rocket carrying an orbiter on its back and rushing to the sky on its fiery tail is iconic. But considering the last Space Shuttle launch was back in 2011, is this the last we’ll ever see of such a thing? What’s next? Could an improved shuttle be made that takes off and lands like an airplane?

Our planet is a complex hodge-podge of all kinds of matter, which is combined into an impressive mass. All that mass works like a colossal magnet that allows the Earth to maintain one thing we all know and love – the atmosphere. But the atmosphere itself is also filled with matter. Airplanes don’t struggle this much with getting through the atmosphere. But what about shuttles?

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