Monitoring Desk
LONDON: A superfast drone has been flown at near-supersonic speeds thanks to a new engine that could eventually change passenger jets.
Venus Aerospace successfully completed the test flight of its drone with a “rotating detonation rocket engine.”
The company hopes to use this type of engine to build commercial Mach 9 speed planes in the future.
Mach 9 is nine times the speed of sound which is over 6,900 miles power.
A plane traveling that fast could take you from London to San Francisco in just one hour.
“Venus Aerospace’s supersonic flight test drone successfully completed its inaugural flight and we now have a wealth of data to anchor and tweak for our next flight.
“The test successfully demonstrated flight controls, stability, one leg of the ultimate Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE) propulsion system, telemetry, ground operations, and air launch. Release in comments!” the company tweeted last month.
It also posted a video of the test flight in action including the drone being dropped from a plane.
“Venus Aerospace’s supersonic flight test drone successfully completed its inaugural flight on Feb 24, 2024.
“The eight foot, 300lb drone was dropped at an altitude of 12,000 ft and accelerated to a top speed of Mach 0.9, flying for 10 miles.
“It was powered by a hydrogen peroxide monopropellant engine at 80% thrust in order to not exceed Mach 1,” the video caption explains.
This engine technology tested is said to be 15 percent more efficient than typical rocket engines.
The speed of sound is around 767 miles per hour.
In comparison, the drone flew at 680 miles per hour for 10 miles.
There are already planes that can fly at the speed of sound or even faster.
However, commercial passenger flights usually fly much slower than this.
