Venus Aerospace raises $91 million to scale RDRE engine production
Venus Aerospace, based in Houston, has landed $91 million in new funding to take its cutting-edge rocket engine, called the rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE), from prototype to production.
This tech could power super-fast planes (think Mach 6 speeds) and help launch satellites into orbit.
Pam Melroy joins Venus Aerospace board
The funding round was led by Mercury Fund, with contributions from investors including Lockheed Martin Ventures, showing some serious belief in Venus's vision.
CEO Sassie Duggleby says building these engines at scale will need strong American supply chains and engineering.
The company made headlines last year with the first US test flight using an RDRE, and even caught the attention of former NASA deputy administrator Pam Melroy, who is now on its board to help push this game-changing tech forward.