Rocket sled impact test in slow motion.

A 1960s rocket concept that imagined orbit in under an hour. Hyperion was a single-stage sled design proposed by engineer Philip Bono. A three-kilometer ground sled would accelerate the vehicle to about 300 meters per second before it climbed a mountainside and headed for orbit. The concept was fully reusable and aimed to lift more than 18,000 kilograms or carry over 100 passengers. It used plug nozzle engines and a heat shield system for re-entry, long before such features became common in mode