NASA SBIR Grant Supported Research Into Nozzle Design And Test

Venus Aerospace, a Houston, Texas-based startup, announced the successful design and testing of a new nozzle for its hypersonic engine system. The nozzle research was supported through a NASA Small Business Innovation Research award.

The award helped Venus test several new designs for the engine nozzle, the part that shapes and directs the thrust where it exits the engine. The top-performing nozzle surpassed expectations and will be integrated into the company’s ground-based launch test this summer.

Sarah "Sassie" Duggleby, CEO of Venus Aerospace said, "We've already proven our engine outperforms traditional systems on both efficiency and size. 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."

The unique design of the Venus engine is called the Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine or RDRE. The concept has been around for years but has never been proven at scale until now. In contrast to conventional rocket engines, the RDRE operates through supersonic shockwaves – called detonations – that produce more power with less fuel.

Andrew Duggleby, Venus Aerospace CTO. "This is just the beginning of what can be achieved with Venus propulsion technology. We've built a compact, high-performance system that unlocks speed, range, and agility across aerospace, defense, and many other applications. And we're confident in its readiness for flight."

This summer’s test flight will be a key milestone in demonstrating efficient, affordable, detonation-based propulsion at scale. Previous demonstrations of efficiency were in the upper 90th percentiles compared to standard rocket engines.

FMI:  www.venusaero.com/