Venus Aerospace, a Houston-based startup pioneering the future of high-speed flight, announced the successful completion of the first U.S. flight test of a next-generation rocket engine: a Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE). 

This milestone marks a significant breakthrough in American aerospace technology. The RDRE design aims to ultimately enable vehicles to travel at speeds between four and six times the speed of sound, taking off from a conventional runway.

Although theorised since the 1980s, a high-thrust RDRE capable of practical application has never previously flown in the United States—and possibly anywhere in the world. This test represents the first-ever flight of a U.S.-developed engine of its kind, proving that Venus’s proprietary RDRE—an affordable, compact propulsion system offering unprecedented efficiency and thrust—can perform successfully under real-world flight conditions.

The demonstration took place at Spaceport America in New Mexico, following a night of heavy winds. On the first flight attempt, Venus’s RDRE successfully launched and flew, validating its performance and system integrity under airborne conditions.

Compared with traditional rocket engines, RDREs offer improved fuel efficiency and a more compact design, making them well-suited to advanced aerospace applications. Venus’s engine has been developed to be both cost-effective and scalable, with potential use in both defence and commercial systems—including future aircraft that could carry passengers from Los Angeles to Tokyo in under two hours.

The RDRE is also engineered to operate in tandem with Venus’s exclusive VDR2 air-breathing detonation ramjet. This combined system would allow aircraft to take off from a runway and transition to hypersonic cruise speeds exceeding Mach 6, all without requiring additional rocket boosters. 

Venus Aerospace is now progressing to full-scale propulsion testing and vehicle integration, advancing toward its ultimate ambition: the Stargazer M4, a reusable Mach 4 passenger aircraft.

The global hypersonics market is forecast to exceed $12 billion by 2030, driven by increasing demand across the defence, aerospace, and commercial aviation sectors.

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