You'd think that the guy typing that, regardless of his scientific background, would have enough sense to know that ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in mankind's arsenal of transportation can travel eighteen times the speed of light.
Not to mention something traveling that fast would most certainly not burn up in Earth's atmosphere. The amount of energy released if a space shuttle traveling eighteen times the speed of light impacted the earth would be catastrophic.
I dunno...perhaps he meant to say "sound" or something? That seems a bit more plausible.