Venus Aerospace has received a strategic investment from Lockheed Martin Ventures to accelerate the development of its rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE), a propulsion technology the company says could redefine efficiency in space and defense systems.
The announcement, made at the Axios Future of Defense Summit in Washington, D.C., follows Venus’s May 2025 high-thrust RDRE flight test at Spaceport America. Terms of the investment were not disclosed.
Pioneering detonation-based propulsion
Venus claims to be the only company with a flight-proven, high-thrust RDRE and a path to scaled production. Unlike conventional engines that rely on subsonic combustion, RDREs use continuous supersonic detonation waves, a concept studied for decades by NASA and the US Air Force Research Laboratory. The approach could improve efficiency by up to 25 percent while reducing engine size and weight.
“Venus has proven in flight the most efficient rocket engine technology in history,” said Sassie Duggleby, Co-founder and CEO of Venus Aerospace. “With support from Lockheed Martin Ventures, we will advance our capabilities to deliver at scale and deploy the engine that will power the next 50 years of defense, space, and commercial high-speed aviation.”
Chris Moran, Executive Director and General Manager of Lockheed Martin Ventures, said the investment reflects the company’s belief that propulsion innovation will shape strategic advantage.
“Next-generation propulsion will define which nations lead in space and defense for decades to come,” Moran said.
Venus is also developing the Venus Detonation Ramjet (VDR), which could combine rocket and air-breathing propulsion for continuous flight from takeoff to hypersonic cruise.
Founded in 2020, the Houston-based startup has raised more than $106 million from investors including Airbus Ventures, Prime Movers Lab, and America’s Frontier Fund, with additional support from NASA, DARPA, and the Air Force Research Laboratory.
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