NASA’s powerful Launch Abort System — literally designed to outrun the debris from an exploding rocket and save the lives of astronauts should something go wrong during launch — is the result of years of work from scientists and engineers across the country,

For more than 60 years, nearly every large rocket used some combination of the same liquid and solid propellants. Refined kerosene was favored for its easy handling and non-toxicity, hydrazine for its storability and simplicity,

Commercial launch providers continue to advance propulsion technology with a renewed focus on liquid oxygen and methane propelled rockets and spacecraft. As systems grow in scale, carrying millions of pounds of propellant,