A HYPERSONIC jet could soar at thousands of miles an hour – slashing the flight time between London and New York to just over an hour thanks to a Nasa-funded engine upgrade.
The Venus Stargazer has a flight range of 5,000 miles, and is set to arrive “as soon as the 2030s”.
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Venus Aerospace, its creator, recently revealed it was planning a flight demo “later this summer”.
The company said that thanks to a Nasa-funded breakthrough, the “record-setting” engine system is nearly ready to try out for real.
Venus hopes that its rocket engine will be able to blast passengers around the Earth in record time.
“Stargazer M4 is Earth’s first hypersonic, reusable aircraft,” Venus Aerospace boasted.
Read more on hypersonic flight
“No one has ever built a hypersonic platform that makes two-hour global transport cost-effective. Until now.
“Our flagship product, Stargazer, will ascend from a central airport using advanced propulsion systems.
“Our vehicle will accelerate from taxi to cruise speeds of Mach 4 at 110,000 feet with a top speed capable of Mach 9.”
The engine is set to feature a new Nasa-funded nozzle design. That’s the part of the rocket that “shapes and directs power“.
This hi-tech nozzle will reportedly allow for speeds exceeding Mach 5 – or about 3,800mph.
“We’ve already proven our engine outperforms traditional systems on both efficiency and size,” said Venus Aerospace chief Sassie Duggleby.
“The technology we developed with NASA’s support will now be part of our integrated engine platform.
“Bringing us one step closer to proving that efficient, compact, and affordable hypersonic flight can be scaled.”
Typical flight distance between London and New York City is around 3,450 miles.
Even at Mach 4 cruising speeds (around 3,070mph), the journey would take just over an hour.
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Venus Aerospace says that its rocket engine could be used for lots of different flight types.
That includes:
- Spacecraft landers
- Low-Earth-orbit satellites
- Space cargo transfer vehicles
- Rocket kick-stages
- Hypersonic drones and missiles
The company completed a supersonic flight test of a drone early last year.
VENUS STARGAZER BY THE NUMBERS
Here’s what you need to know…
- Weight: 150,000 pounds
- Length: 150 feet
- Width: 100 feet
- Top speed: Mach 9 (6,900mph)
- Actual cruising speed: Mach 4/5 (3,000-3,800mph)
- Cruising altitude: 170,000 feet
Picture Credit: Venus Aerospace
It saw the rocket firm blast a 300lb machine to Mach 0.9 (690mph) during a 10-mile flight.
Now Venus is hoping that its new Nasa-funded engine nozzle will allow for a proper flight test, bringing a 2030 commercial launch closer to reality.
“This is just the beginning of what can be achieved with Venus propulsion technology,” said Venus Aerospace’s tech chief Andrew Duggleby.
“We’ve built a compact, high-performance system that unlocks speed, range, and agility across aerospace, defense, and many other applications.
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“And we’re confident in its readiness for flight.”
It comes after a massive plane dubbed the ‘Skytanic’ is set to take to the skies by 2030.
The US is reportedly planning for a ‘Son of Blackbird’ jet that could become the world’s fastest plane.
And another hypersonic jet could whisk passengers from London to Sydney in just two hours.
