A brand-new supersonic jet, dubbed the Stargazer, could soon transport passengers from London to New York in a one-hour trip at a dizzying speed of 4,600 mph. The plane was developed by Venus Aerospace, a Texas -based company that is currently developing an engine to power the supersonic vehicle.
Due to the vehicle being "hypersonic" the plane is likely to move five times faster than the speed of sound and can travel higher than most commercial flights, reports the Daily Mail . Should the plane be clear for commercial use, the $33 million project will be able to complete the 3,459-mile trip in only 60 minutes, five times faster than NASA's pet project, the "Son of Concorde."
According to the outlet, Venus Aerospace debuted the plane's engine at the Up Summit event in Bentonville, Arkansas . The company dubbed it the Venus Detonation Ramjet 2000 lb Thrust Engine or "VDR2." Cofounder Andrew Duggleby called the engine a "revolution in high-speed flight."
Astronaut shares spectacular aurora view from SpaceX capsule 250 miles above Earth
Drivers warned as massive solar storm set to disrupt GPS systems and power grids
"This engine makes the hypersonic economy a reality," Duggleby, who founded the company in 2020 said. According to the founder, the engine is designed to reach up to Mach 9 or nine times the speed of sound. According to the outlet, the engine has already been tested in a small drone earlier this year and the company announced they are planning a second test for 2025.
"Stargazer is Earth’s first hypersonic, reusable aircraft. No one has ever built an engine that makes one-hour global transport cost-effective. Until now," a brief statement on the developer's site reads.
"Stargazer will take off from a primary airport with jet engines, then when away from city-center, our rocket engine will propel passengers gently to 170,000 feet and Mach 9, crossing 5000 miles in 1 hour. San Francisco to Japan. Houston To London. All with a 2-hour turn-around."
Should the plane be approved, it would be the first commercial airplane to go faster than the speed of sound since Concorde, which was retired in 2003. Venus Aerospace stated that the plane would be able to fly up to 110,000 feet.
"We can’t wait to dig in, make the first one fly, and ultimately perfect an engine concept that has lived mostly in textbooks but never as a production unit in the air," Eric Briggs, Velontra’s chief operating officer said.
According to the site, the brand-new engine "creates 15% more thrust, therefore better range and performance, and allows room for jet engines, landing gear, wings, safety systems, and more."
The site also talks about how they spend tons of time making sure that each test is processed one at a time and made sure that the entire vehicle is beneficial to the environment.
"Our innovative flight test approach ensures precision and cost-effectiveness. We focus exclusively on individual tests, using tailored environments and a high-cadence architecture for reliable performance," the site added.
Despite all the hubbub surrounding the plane, it may not be completed in time to beat NASA's new 100-foot-long plane, dubbed X-95, which currently exists in a prototype form.
NASA plane is capable of cruising at 937 mph, which while faster than the speed of sound, is not faster than the Stargrazer.
Local News
