US-based Auriga Space is developing a new way to launch satellites into low Earth orbit more frequently and at lower cost than traditional rockets. Instead of relying only on rocket engines, Auriga’s system uses electricity, magnetic levitation, and a long vacuum tube to accelerate a launch vehicle to very high speed before a smaller rocket stage carries it the rest of the way to orbit. The same technology also powers high-speed test facilities that the company already rents to aerospace and defense clients for hypersonic testing. By reducing the most expensive part of a launch, the company aims to make access to space faster, cheaper, and more reliable for commercial satellite operators as well as defense customers.