The Texas-based aerospace company Venus Aerospace is one of the few that is captivated by the idea of hypersonic jet travel. airplane .
Currently, the company’s engineers are working on the development of a passenger airliner called Stargazer. It will reach speeds of over 7300 km/h, which is six times the speed of sound, and will fly higher than other aircraft.
If the plane is approved for passenger flights, it will be able to cover the distance of 5,572 kilometers from London to New York in less than an hour. This means it will be three times faster than the legendary Concorde, which reached speeds of up to 2,160 km/h.
The heart of the aircraft is a turbojet engine. engine also known as VDR2. According to Andrew Daggulby, co-founder of Venus Aerospace, this engine will enable a “revolution in hypersonic flight.”
When VDR2 is ready, it will initially be used in high-speed drones, and only later in the Stargazer liner. By the way, the company has invested 33 million dollars in the creation of the aircraft, the publication reported. Daily Mail .
Earlier this year, the VDR2 engine was successfully tested on a small scale. drone The second test of the drone is scheduled by the designers for 2025.
Venus Aerospace has released concept images of the Stargazer, but it is still unclear how close they are to creating a prototype. If the project is realized, Stargazer will become the first commercial passenger aircraft to exceed the speed of sound since the famous Concorde.
The Concorde, which was retired over 20 years ago, flew at a maximum altitude of about 18,300 meters. Meanwhile, the high-speed liner from Venus Aerospace will be able to soar even higher – up to 33,500 meters.
By the way, the supersonic liner “Concorde,” which was in operation for 27 years until 2003, was not the first aircraft to break the sound barrier. The first to do so was the American experimental plane Bell X-1: on October 14, 1947, pilot Charles Elwood Yeager accelerated it to 1,225 km/h.