Venus Aerospace Nets $90M to Advance Rotating Detonation Engines

Founded in 2020 by Sassie and Andrew Duggleby, Venus Aerospace originally aimed to develop hypersonic passenger jets. The company shifted its focus after demonstrating that its RDRE—a technology that creates a supersonic combustion wave to achieve higher efficiency—could survive the extreme thermal stresses that historically plagued the concept. Following a successful flight test last May, defense contractors and space agencies approached the firm, prompting a strategic move into missile thrusters and high-speed vehicle development.

The $90 million round, led by Mercury Fund with participation from Lockheed Martin Ventures, MESH, and others, will finance the scaling of these systems. While the engine has successfully completed 600 tests, current burn times remain limited to 32 seconds. Future development cycles will focus on extending that performance to the 6-to-15-minute range required for operational defense missions. With new support from the Texas Space Commission, the company is constructing a larger test stand to bridge the gap between theoretical efficiency and long-duration flight reliability.