Venus Aerospace Will Improve Hypersonic Engines Leading to Mach 9 Passenger Travel
Venus Aerospace is developing a 12 passenger Mach 9 hypersonic aircraft (Stargazer) that will connect any destination in the world in under an hour. The aircraft will use a rotating detonation rocket engine when flying at 170,000 but will use conventional engines for take-off and landing. The company has raised $39 millopn in funding from several well recognized and respected investor groups at the end of 2023.
Venus Aerospace’s supersonic flight test drone successfully completed its inaugural flight on Feb 24, 2024. The eight foot, 300lb drone was dropped at an altitude of 12,000 ft and accelerated to a top speed of Mach 0.9, flying for 10 miles. It was powered by a hydrogen peroxide monopropellant engine at 80% thrust in order to not exceed Mach 1. The test successfully demonstrated flight controls, stability, one leg of the ultimate Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE) propulsion system, telemetry, ground operations, and air launch.
They will superior Rotating Detonation Rocket Engines to make hypersonic drones and then Mach 9 hypersonic passenger planes.
In March 2024, Venus Aerospace achieved the first long-duration engine test of their Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE) in partnership with DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency).
RDREs theoretically can achieve an additional 15% efficiency over traditional rocket engines which directly leads to reduced propellant consumption, allowing them to fly farther on less fuel. Venus is pioneering the development of the RDRE, a revolutionary technology that could aid in unlocking the reusable hypersonic economy, and this important milestone marks a critical step in that direction.