Finally, a laser or some part of the microwaves are also focused as a "plasma torch" at some distance above the Lightcraft, creating an aerospike that detaches and mitigates the bow shock wave ahead of the craft when it evolves at supersonic speeds, lowering heat transfert to the walls. The distance and intensity of the aerospike are tuned according to the atmospheric pressure, temperature gradients and velocity of the airflow to actively shape the shock wave so the boundary layer can be optimally controlled by the radial MHD slipstream accelerators.