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The article discusses a low-altitude terrestrial test rocket which is being tested at the Masten Space Systems aimed at imitating extraterrestrial descents. It uses the open-frame vertical takeoff of Masten and landing Xombie rocket as the hub of the vehicle with guidance embedded navigator integration environment (GENIE) guiding the rocket. It also states that GENIE can assess the position of the vehicle due to its programmed algorithms.

The article discusses the importance of flight testing in rocket development, and the risks of minimalist flight testing as spaceflight companies accelerate the commencement of their commercial operations. Topics covered include the failed test flight of SpaceShipTwo Enterprise of commercial spaceflight company Virgin Galactic, the X-15 rocket-powered aircraft test flights conducted by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) from 1959-1968, and the test flight of Ariane 5 rocket.

The article reports on the growing interest in the propulsion process called pressure gain combustion within the global aerospace community. Topics discussed include the shift of emphasis from pulsed-detonation engines to continuous or rotating-detonation engines, a collaborative team conducting an experiment to demonstrate a single turbine stage integrated into a continuous detonation engine (CDE) and GHKN Engineering testing continuous detonation rocket engines (CDRE) for space applications.

The article discusses developments in testing rocket motors using hybrid rocket systems. Topics covered include the testing of six free-flight sounding rockets by the educational non-profit organization SystemsGo in July 2014, the efforts of Utah State Propulsion Research Laboratory in testing a unique low input power arc-ignition system used in hybrid rockets, and the static firing tests of a swirling-oxidizer-flow-type hybrid rocket engine by the Hybrid Rocket Research Working Group in Japan.