Venus Aerospace Unveils Groundbreaking Detonation Ramjet Engine

Venus' advanced propulsion system is engineered to power high-speed vehicles, including drones and aircraft, enabling them to travel vast distances at high altitudes and achieve high-Mach speeds with unmatched efficiency.

HOUSTON, October 01, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Venus’ advanced propulsion system is engineered to power high-speed vehicles, including drones and aircraft, enabling them to travel vast distances at high altitudes and achieve high-Mach speeds with unmatched efficiency.  The VDR2 combines the high thrust and efficiency of the Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE) with the high efficiency cruise of a Ramjet. This offers a single engine from take-off to as fast as Mach 6, with a streamlined airflow design for low drag, and eliminates the need for complex mechanical components.

Speaking at Up.Summit, Dr. Andrew Duggleby unveiled the engine and said, “This engine makes the hypersonic economy a reality.  We are excited to partner with Velontra to achieve this revolution in high speed flight, given their expertise in high-speed air combustion.”

“We can’t wait to dig in, make the first one fly, and ultimately perfect an engine concept that has lived mostly in textbooks but never as a production unit in the air,” says Eric Briggs, Velontra’s Chief Operating Officer. “We couldn’t think of a better partner than Venus. Rocketry pioneers in their own right, and ready to tackle the hard problems, we are eager to fly the same path with them.” Combining technologies allows both Venus Aerospace and Velontra to take tangible steps toward their shared vision of unlocking the high-speed flight economy in the commercial and defense sectors.

The VDR2 will take flight in Venus’ hypersonic flight test drone in 2025.

About Venus Aerospace

Venus Aerospace, founded in 2020 by Andrew and Sassie Duggleby, is a venture-backed startup that has raised $70M to develop reusable high-speed technology, revolutionizing and redefining the boundaries of aviation, defense, and beyond. Dedicated to pioneering dual-use hypersonic technology, Venus has achieved all engine milestones and successfully flew its inaugural supersonic drone in February 2024.

Press Contact – Stephanie Gracia: press@venusaero.com

Original Article link.

Press Inquiries

Andrew Duggleby

CTO

Dr. Andrew Duggleby is the CTO and co-founder of Venus Aerospace, a U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander and an engineering professor. Before launching Venus, he was head of launch operations at Virgin Orbit where he led operational planning, mission control, telemetry, ground equipment, launch infrastructure, and payload operations teams. He also led a team of engineers and technicians to hotfire the first dual-mode 3D print (DMLS printed and DED cladded) rocket engine, in collaboration with NASA MSFC. Dr. Duggleby was a Mechanical Engineering Asst. Professor at Virginia Tech and Texas A&M. He founded Exosent Engineering with a former student, making ASME-rated hazardous transport trailers, and exited in 2015 to pursue his space passion. A Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve, he has multiple deployments to Japan (shipyard repair), and multiple commanding officer tours of US-based reserve maintenance units. Would love to get more PhDs but his wife won’t let him.