In each of the illustrations in this news piece, you can observe the Darkstar airplane produced by Lockheeed Martin for the movie Top Gun: Maverick. Revealing that Tom Cruise’s character in the beginning of the film managed to accelerate the aircraft to Mach 10 (12,348 km/h) would not spoil anything. Venus Aerospace intends to construct a commercial plane that can fly at almost the same velocity.
Here’s What We Know Boom Supersonic will achieve a speed of Mach 1.7 (2099.16 km/h), while Concorde reached a maximum speed of Mach 2 (2469.6 km/h). The Lockheed Martin SR-71 Blackbird holds the title for the fastest aircraft ever, clocking in at Mach 3.2 (3951.36 km/h).
Venus Aerospace has set an ambitious objective of designing a passenger airliner capable of accelerating to Mach 9 (11,113.2 km/h). The flight will occur at an altitude of 50 km (space starts at 100 km). It will ascend there within 10 minutes, utilizing a rocket engine.
Venus Aerospace’s promising aircraft, powered by Jet-A fuel and hydrogen peroxide, will accommodate up to 12 passengers. The company plans to operate four flights daily. Experts have already successfully initiated combustion in a blend of Jet-A fuel and hydrogen peroxide.
The aircraft will feature a rotary detonation engine. The propulsion system is currently in the development stage, and to save time, Venus Aerospace has commenced drone testing. The objective is to determine the design of the new aircraft.
The company has already designed and tested a 1.5-meter-long drone. By the end of the year, they aim to finalize the development of a supersonic 2.4-meter drone. The first UAV equipped with a rotary detonation engine is scheduled for 2024. It will be capable of reaching a speed of Mach 3 (3,704.4 km/h).