Venus Aerospace, earlier this month, successfully completed the first U.S. flight test of a next-generation rocket engine: a Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE).
This milestone marks a breakthrough in American aerospace, with a design ultimately aimed at enabling vehicles to travel four to six times the speed of sound from a conventional runway.
Theorized since the 1980s, a high-thrust RDRE capable of practical application has never been flown in the United States—and possibly anywhere in the world. This test represents the first-ever flight of an American-developed engine of its kind, proving that Venus’s proprietary RDRE—an affordable, compact propulsion system delivering unprecedented efficiency and thrust—can operate under real-world conditions.
The demonstration took place at Spaceport America in New Mexico. On the first flight attempt, Venus’s RDRE successfully launched and flew its engine, validating performance and system integrity under flight conditions.
Compared to traditional rocket engines, RDREs offer improved efficiency and compactness, making them particularly suited for advanced aerospace applications. Venus’s engine is designed to be affordable and scalable for both defense and commercial systems, including future vehicles that could fly passengers from Los Angeles to Tokyo in under two hours.
Venus’s RDRE is also engineered to work with the company’s exclusive VDR2 air-breathing detonation ramjet. This pairing enables aircraft to take off from a runway and transition to speeds exceeding Mach 6, maintaining hypersonic cruise without the need for rocket boosters. Venus is planning full-scale propulsion testing and vehicle integration of this system, moving toward their ultimate goal: the Stargazer M4, a Mach 4 reusable passenger aircraft.
Spaceport America was created to make space history, and Venus Aerospace delivered a milestone moment for hypersonics today,” said Scott McLaughlin, Executive Director, Spaceport America. “Getting a rotating detonation rocket engine to the launch pad is an achievement few thought possible in such a short time. We’re thrilled to host innovators like Venus, whose breakthroughs are redefining what’s possible in spaceflight.”
This is the moment we’ve been working toward for five years,” said Sassie Duggleby, CEO and Co-founder of Venus Aerospace. “We’ve proven that this technology works—not just in simulations or the lab, but in the air. With this milestone, we’re one step closer to making high-speed flight accessible, affordable, and sustainable.”
This milestone proves our engine works outside the lab, under real flight conditions,” said Andrew Duggleby, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer. “Rotating detonation has been a long-sought gain in performance. Venus’ RDRE solved the last but critical steps to harness the theoretical benefits of pressure gain combustion. We’ve built an engine that not only runs, but runs reliably and efficiently—and that’s what makes it scalable. This is the foundation we need that, combined with a ramjet, completes the system from take-off to sustained hypersonic flight.”