A 'Space Plane' That Can Get You Anywhere on Earth in One Hour? Meet the Company Trying to Build It

A ‘Space Plane’ That Can Get You Anywhere on Earth in One Hour? Meet the Company Trying to Build It

Meg Godlewski

Tuesday, April 12, 2022 at 12:43 PM ET

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[File photo: Adobe Stock]

Key Takeaways:

Venus Aerospace, co-founded by Andrew and Sarah Duggleby, aims to revolutionize global travel by developing hypersonic aircraft capable of transporting passengers across the world in approximately one hour.
The core technology relies on three innovations: efficient "rotation detonation engines," a "waverider" aircraft design for optimal lift and reduced drag at Mach 9, and advanced leading-edge cooling for rapid aircraft turnaround.
The project is currently in the advanced development phase, with full-scale design anticipated by 2025 and test flights projected around 2030, promising a low-G passenger experience without the need for space suits.

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One of the challenges of the global marketplace is human logistics. If your work takes you to the other side of the world, it is not uncommon to spend more than 10 hours in transit and the better part of a day to adjust to jet lag. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could get there in an hour?

It’s possible, says Andrew Duggleby the co-founder of Venus Aerospace, a company dedicated to hypersonic transport.