This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

Hypersonic flight powered by ramjets and scramjets will continue to shrink our planet by reducing international flight time to a couple hours. This will enable us realize our dreams of exploring, industrializing, and even colonizing space by dramatically reducing the cost and inconvenience of space travel.

Kevin Bowcutt has been on the leading edge of aerospace science for the last three decades, whether leading classes of advanced engineering students or scientists. He is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and member of the National Academy of Engineering. Highlights of his 30-year career include leading the team that designed reusable space launch vehicles with the National Aerospace Plane program and investigating the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. Kevin is now at Boeing Research & Technology.