Lockheed Martin invests in rotating detonation rocket engine startup Venus Aerospace
The venture capital division at Lockheed Martin, which has previously invested in a number of aerospace startups, has now invested in the rocket engine startup Venus Aerospace, which is developing a new radical design called a rotating detonation rocket.
Venus Aerospace, based in Houston, Texas, has developed a rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE) — a propulsion system that uses a continuously rotating detonation shockwave to generate thrust, promising more efficiency than conventional rocket engines. The company completed the first U.S. flight test of a 2,000-pound-thrust RDRE in May, launching the engine on a small rocket at Spaceport America in New Mexico. This engine could be used to replace solid rocket motors to power munitions and rockets, Sassie Duggleby, co-founder and chief executive of Venus Aerospace, said at Axios “Future of Defense” conference.
The amount of Lockheed Martin Ventures’ investment was not disclosed. Duggleby said the funding will “advance our capabilities to deliver at scale and deploy the engine.”
Venus Aerospace has already raised more than $100 million in private investment capital. This new influx from an established big space player will certainly strengthen its financial position.
Lockheed Martin has previously invested in rocket startups Rocket Lab, ABL, Orbex, and X-Bow. It has also invested in the orbital tug startup Orbit Fab, the orbital capsule company Inversion Space, and the satellite startup Terran Orbital, which it ended up buying entirely.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
The venture capital division at Lockheed Martin, which has previously invested in a number of aerospace startups, has now invested in the rocket engine startup Venus Aerospace, which is developing a new radical design called a rotating detonation rocket.
Venus Aerospace, based in Houston, Texas, has developed a rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE) — a propulsion system that uses a continuously rotating detonation shockwave to generate thrust, promising more efficiency than conventional rocket engines. The company completed the first U.S. flight test of a 2,000-pound-thrust RDRE in May, launching the engine on a small rocket at Spaceport America in New Mexico. This engine could be used to replace solid rocket motors to power munitions and rockets, Sassie Duggleby, co-founder and chief executive of Venus Aerospace, said at Axios “Future of Defense” conference.
The amount of Lockheed Martin Ventures’ investment was not disclosed. Duggleby said the funding will “advance our capabilities to deliver at scale and deploy the engine.”
Venus Aerospace has already raised more than $100 million in private investment capital. This new influx from an established big space player will certainly strengthen its financial position.
Lockheed Martin has previously invested in rocket startups Rocket Lab, ABL, Orbex, and X-Bow. It has also invested in the orbital tug startup Orbit Fab, the orbital capsule company Inversion Space, and the satellite startup Terran Orbital, which it ended up buying entirely.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News