Venus Aerospace‘s supersonic flight test drone achieved a significant milestone with its inaugural flight on February 24, 2024. The eight-foot, 300-pound drone was released at an altitude of 12,000 feet and accelerated to a top subsonic speed of Mach 0.9, covering a distance of 10 miles. Powered by a hydrogen peroxide monopropellant engine operating at 80% thrust to avoid exceeding Mach 1, the test demonstrated flight controls, stability, one component of the Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE) propulsion system, telemetry, ground operations, and air launch.
Andrew Duggleby, CTO & Co-Founder of Venus Aerospace, emphasized the significance of using an air-launched platform and a rocket-with-wing configuration for achieving cost-effective and rapid testing of the RDRE as a hypersonic engine. He praised the team’s professionalism and highlighted the wealth of data from the successful test flight to inform and refine future iterations.
“This is how you do hard things: one bite at a time. Up next is the RDRE flight, and ultimately, the hypersonic flight, proving that the RDRE is the engine that unlocks the hypersonic economy,” says CEO & Co-Founder Sarah “Sassie” Duggleby.
Based in Houston, Texas, Venus Aerospace is a pioneering aerospace startup dedicated to shaping the future of hypersonic flight. Comprising a team of experts including PhDs, rocket scientists, and engineers, Venus Aerospace tackles the most significant challenges in aerospace, aiming to achieve speeds of Mach 9. With this ambitious goal, Venus aims to revolutionize global transportation, making one-hour global travel a reality to enhance connectivity and safety worldwide.
Image Credit- Venus Aerospace
