Today's rockets are far too expensive and inefficient for large scale space colonization. Major problems are: 1. A lot of rocket fuel is used for launching more fuel into space, making fuel absurdly expensive. 2. Conventional rockets can only be used once, and space shuttles require expensive repairs and controls to be re-used. The result of those problems combined is that each launch costs almost the payload's weight in gold. A better launch must solve both those problems. Only then can space travel be affordable to a general public. One solution is burning rubber.