Venus Aerospace has successfully completed its first supersonic drone flight test. Equipped with a Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE) propulsion system, the 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, as the RDRE propulsion system will take over on later prototypes to help it break through the sound barrier. The team just wanted to successfully demonstrate its flight controls, stability, one leg of the ultimate Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE) propulsion system, telemetry, ground operations, and an air launch.
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This is how you do hard things: one bite at a time. Up next is RDRE flight, and ultimately hypersonic flight, proving that the RDRE is the engine that unlocks the hypersonic economy,” said Sarah “Sassie” Duggleby, CEO & Co-Founder.
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