Latest news with #VenusAerospace
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
CleanJoule's SpaceSAF Successfully Fuels a Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine
The recent ground test illustrates the viability of high-performance alternative fuels for space missions PARIS, June 18, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In a first-of-its-kind test, CleanJoule's high-performance alternative rocket fuel, SpaceSAF, was successfully used to power a Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE) developed by Venus Aerospace, marking a major validation of next-generation fuel compatibility with cutting-edge propulsion systems. The ground test was conducted at Venus's Houston-based test site and represents a significant step forward in expanding the operational flexibility of RDRE technology across dual use missions. "Without affordable, domestically-produced alternative fuels, the financial and environmental costs of space missions become unsustainable," said Mukund Karanjikar, CEO and founder, CleanJoule. "The successful detonation of an RDRE utilizing SpaceSAF proves that alternative fuels can deliver for both performance and emissions needs in commercial and defense applications." SpaceSAF is a drop-in replacement for liquid (RP-1 & RP-2) rocket fuels that improves mission performance including increasing payload and distance. From the same base material used to produce SpaceSAF, CleanJoule also produces a sustainable solid rocket fuel (SSRF) for use as a superior performance, drop-in replacement for existing solid rocket motors. This milestone comes at a critical time with an ecosystem emerging that is focused on expanding access to space across satellite deployment, exploration, and defense systems. As more frequent launches drive up related CO2 emissions, the need for performant alternatives to conventional rocket fuels is urgent. "This test helps advance an important conversation in aerospace: how to pair next-gen propulsion with alternative fuels that don't compromise on performance," said Nick Cardwell, VP of Product and Advanced Concepts, Venus Aerospace. "CleanJoule's work on high-performance, low-emissions fuels contributes meaningfully to an evolving space and defense ecosystem, and we're pleased to see their product perform under real operational conditions." About CleanJoule CleanJoule Inc., headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, is an advanced fuels company that enhances performance across commercial and defense aerospace. CleanJoule's breakthrough pathway produces the only full performance, 100 percent drop-in advanced fuel that can be used for commercial, military, and space applications. CleanJoule's focus is on distributed manufacturing of advanced aviation fuels using readily available domestic biomass feedstocks, further ensuring supply chain resilience. CleanJoule's manufacturing process has superior efficiency while increasing energy density and reducing carbon emissions, soot, and contrail formation. Backed by Indigo Partners, Cleanhill Partners, GenZero, Frontier Airlines, Wizz Airlines, and Volaris, CleanJoule is on a mission to create superior aerospace and defense fuels that enable domestic supply chain resiliency. For more information, visit View source version on Contacts Media Kate Gundrycleanjoule@ 617-797-5174 Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Wire
18-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
CleanJoule's SpaceSAF Successfully Fuels a Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine
PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In a first-of-its-kind test, CleanJoule's high-performance alternative rocket fuel, SpaceSAF, was successfully used to power a Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE) developed by Venus Aerospace, marking a major validation of next-generation fuel compatibility with cutting-edge propulsion systems. The ground test was conducted at Venus's Houston-based test site and represents a significant step forward in expanding the operational flexibility of RDRE technology across dual use missions. The successful detonation of an RDRE utilizing SpaceSAF proves that alternative fuels can deliver on both performance and emissions needs in commercial and defense applications. Share 'Without affordable, domestically-produced alternative fuels, the financial and environmental costs of space missions become unsustainable,' said Mukund Karanjikar, CEO and founder, CleanJoule. "The successful detonation of an RDRE utilizing SpaceSAF proves that alternative fuels can deliver for both performance and emissions needs in commercial and defense applications.' SpaceSAF is a drop-in replacement for liquid (RP-1 & RP-2) rocket fuels that improves mission performance including increasing payload and distance. From the same base material used to produce SpaceSAF, CleanJoule also produces a sustainable solid rocket fuel (SSRF) for use as a superior performance, drop-in replacement for existing solid rocket motors. This milestone comes at a critical time with an ecosystem emerging that is focused on expanding access to space across satellite deployment, exploration, and defense systems. As more frequent launches drive up related CO2 emissions, the need for performant alternatives to conventional rocket fuels is urgent. 'This test helps advance an important conversation in aerospace: how to pair next-gen propulsion with alternative fuels that don't compromise on performance,' said Nick Cardwell, VP of Product and Advanced Concepts, Venus Aerospace. 'CleanJoule's work on high-performance, low-emissions fuels contributes meaningfully to an evolving space and defense ecosystem, and we're pleased to see their product perform under real operational conditions.' About CleanJoule CleanJoule Inc., headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, is an advanced fuels company that enhances performance across commercial and defense aerospace. CleanJoule's breakthrough pathway produces the only full performance, 100 percent drop-in advanced fuel that can be used for commercial, military, and space applications. CleanJoule's focus is on distributed manufacturing of advanced aviation fuels using readily available domestic biomass feedstocks, further ensuring supply chain resilience. CleanJoule's manufacturing process has superior efficiency while increasing energy density and reducing carbon emissions, soot, and contrail formation. Backed by Indigo Partners, Cleanhill Partners, GenZero, Frontier Airlines, Wizz Airlines, and Volaris, CleanJoule is on a mission to create superior aerospace and defense fuels that enable domestic supply chain resiliency. For more information, visit
Forbes
30-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The Secret To Leading Innovation With Thriving Teams Is Hidden Grit
We do this not because it is easy, but because we thought it would be easy We don't do this because it's easy. We do this because we thought it would be easy. That line came to me in a meme from a colleague during one of the hardest stretches of my time on the leadership team at Venus Aerospace, a company developing reusable hypersonic aircraft designed to fly you across the Pacific in under two hours. I now serve as an advisor to the company, but back then I was deep in the day-to-day: capital uncertainty, shifting priorities, and scenario planning for what felt like the 14th time. No one signs up for a moonshot to argue over budget spreadsheets. They join to build. But that week, belief felt like the scarcest resource of all. I remembered that meme again last week, when Venus completed a historic flight test of its Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine, becoming the first U.S. company to prove this next-gen propulsion system in the air. A huge technical win. Rightfully celebrated. But for those of us who've been inside the effort, it didn't feel like a singular moment of triumph. It felt like a quiet exhale shared between people who had endured the technical gauntlet—and the emotional one—and held on when it would've been easier not to. The technology is brutally hard. But trying to build something unprecedented—without breaking the people building it—adds a second, quieter layer of difficulty. Everyone knows this kind of work is difficult. But we still misunderstand where the difficulty lies. We assume the challenge is technical complexity. But in reality, it's the emotional and relational toll of doing something under pressure, without precedent, and with limited room for error. That misunderstanding doesn't just distort expectations. It makes success more rare—because it causes people to give up too soon. Here's what I've learned about what actually makes hard things hard. At a startup doing something new, nothing is established. Not just the product—the roles, the systems, the culture—it's all being built in real time. That ambiguity can fuel creativity, but it can also drain morale. Decisions that would be defaults in a mature company become full-blown debates. Passionate people burn out solving problems they weren't hired for. A colleague on the executive team once said: 'The definition of great work is solving difficult problems with non-difficult people.' But when the problem is hard enough, even the best people become difficult—not because they're wrong, but because it's costing them. That's when story becomes your most important leadership tool. When belief starts to fray, the story you tell—about what you're doing and why—either sustains you or breaks you. It doesn't mean ignoring reality. But it does mean guarding attention. Because attention is social. And if 'this is broken' becomes the dominant narrative, it doesn't just describe the problem—it magnifies it. Leadership in those moments means choosing what not to amplify. In a company growing fast and flying blind, every stage demands new skills. And usually, no one is fully ready—including the leaders. Some thrive in early chaos but stall when structure is needed. Others bring polish but struggle without resources. If you lead too far ahead, you build what you can't afford. If you lead from behind, you stall progress. You have to do two things at once: This is especially true for founders. Yes, they enter rooms few ever access. But they also carry the weight. People expect them to believe harder, fix faster, and stay composed—while learning on the fly. Sometimes that means firing friends. Sometimes it means ignoring well-meaning advice. Sometimes it just means showing up—again—when you're not sure you're enough. One of Venus' most strategic breakthroughs wasn't technical—it was logistical. The industry assumes engine testing has to happen in remote areas. But we asked: What if we could test on-site? That single question—born of necessity—let us test faster, cheaper, and more frequently than anyone else. It wasn't genius. It was constraint reimagined. When pressure is unrelenting, what holds people together isn't just shared goals. It's shared humanity. Late nights around the founders' dinner table—debating fantasy novels, defending the brilliance of Highlander—became rituals that sustained us. Jokes from those nights found their way into slide decks. We awarded prizes for the best dad jokes. When one teammate suffered a personal loss, the team rallied with tears and resolve. Often, it wasn't strategy that kept someone from walking away. It was being talked off the ledge by a friend who didn't even like you at first—but who now understood exactly what you were carrying. You play every card you've got. And you just hope you don't run out too soon. Funny enough, this isn't just a story about rocket engines (what an interesting sentence to write, by the way). It's about the human engine behind every breakthrough—and what it really takes to lead through the fog. So yes, we're proud of the technical win. But I'm just as proud of what didn't make the press release: Because the truth is: we didn't really think it would be easy. We just hoped it would be worth it. Turns out, it is. When the world moves faster than most teams can process, the leaders who will matter most aren't just the ones who can think clearly. They're the ones who can stay human—when it would be easier not to.
Forbes
29-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
For Leaders Who Thought It Would Be Easier—The Other Press Release…
We do this not because it is easy, but because we thought it would be easy We don't do this because it's easy. We do this because we thought it would be easy. That line came to me in a meme from a colleague at Venus during one of the hardest stretches of my time on the leadership team at Venus Aerospace, a company developing reusable hypersonic aircraft designed to fly you across the Pacific in under two hours. I now serve as an advisor to the company, but back then I was deep in the day-to-day: capital uncertainty, shifting priorities, and scenario planning for what felt like the 14th time. No one signs up for a moonshot to argue over budget spreadsheets. They join to build. But that week, belief felt like the scarcest resource of all. I remembered that meme again last week, when Venus completed a historic flight test of its Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE), becoming the first U.S. company—and perhaps the first in the world—to prove this next-gen propulsion system in the air. It made international headlines. A huge technical win. Rightfully celebrated. But for those of us who've been inside the effort, it didn't feel like a singular moment of triumph. It felt like a quiet exhale shared between people who had endured who had endured the technical gauntlet—and the emotional one—and held on when it would've been easier not to. The technology is brutally hard. But trying to build something unprecedented—without breaking the people building it—adds a second, quieter layer of difficulty. Everyone knows this kind of work is difficult. But we still misunderstand where the difficulty lies. We assume the challenge is technical complexity. But in reality, it's the emotional and relational toll of doing something under pressure, without precedent, and with limited room for error. That misunderstanding doesn't just distort expectations. It makes success more rare—because it causes people to give up too soon. Here's what I've learned about what actually makes hard things hard. At a startup doing something new, nothing is established. Not just the product—the roles, the systems, the culture—it's all being built in real time. That ambiguity can fuel creativity, but it can also drain morale. Decisions that would be defaults in a mature company become full-blown debates. Passionate people burn out solving problems they weren't hired for. Curt Steinhorst as a Venus Executive Leader A colleague on the executive team once said: 'The definition of great work is solving difficult problems with non-difficult people.' But when the problem is hard enough, even the best people become difficult—not because they're wrong, but because it's costing them. That's when story becomes your most important leadership tool. When belief starts to fray, the story you tell—about what you're doing and why—either sustains you or breaks you. It doesn't mean ignoring reality. But it does mean guarding attention. Because attention is social. And if 'this is broken' becomes the dominant narrative, it doesn't just describe the problem—it magnifies it. Leadership in those moments means choosing what not to amplify. In a company growing fast and flying blind, every stage demands new skills. And usually, no one is fully ready—including the leaders. Some thrive in early chaos but stall when structure is needed. Others bring polish but struggle without resources. If you lead too far ahead, you build what you can't afford. If you lead from behind, you stall progress. You have to do two things at once: This is especially true for founders. Yes, they enter rooms few ever access. But they also carry the weight. People expect them to believe harder, fix faster, and stay composed—while learning on the fly. Sometimes that means firing friends. Sometimes it means ignoring well-meaning advice. Sometimes it just means showing up—again—when you're not sure you're enough. One of Venus' most strategic breakthroughs wasn't technical—it was logistical. The industry assumes engine testing has to happen in remote areas. But we asked: What if we could test on-site? That single question—born of necessity—let us test faster, cheaper, and more frequently than anyone else. It wasn't genius. It was constraint reimagined. When pressure is unrelenting, what holds people together isn't just shared goals. It's shared humanity. Late nights around the founders' dinner table—debating fantasy novels, defending the brilliance of Highlander—became rituals that sustained us. Jokes from those nights found their way into slide decks. We awarded prizes for the best dad jokes. When one teammate suffered a personal loss, the team rallied with tears and resolve. Often, it wasn't strategy that kept someone from walking away. It was being talked off the ledge by a friend who didn't even like you at first—but who now understood exactly what you were carrying. You play every card you've got. And you just hope you don't run out too soon. Funny enough, this isn't just a story about rocket engines (what an interesting sentence to write, by the way). It's about the human engine behind every breakthrough—and what it really takes to lead through the fog. So yes, we're proud of the technical win. But I'm just as proud of what didn't make the press release: Because the truth is: we didn't really think it would be easy. We just hoped it would be worth it. Turns out, it is. When the world moves faster than most teams can process, the leaders who will matter most aren't just the ones who can think clearly. They're the ones who can stay human—when it would be easier not to.
Daily Mail
28-05-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
Supersonic jet set to release in 2030 will take passengers from New York to London in less than 60 minutes
Supersonic travel is moving closer to reality, after a successful test by a Texas startup that could one day fly passengers from New York to Paris in just 55 minutes. Venus Aerospace completed the world's first atmospheric test of a rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE), a breakthrough propulsion system that uses spinning explosions instead of steady combustion to generate thrust. The test took place on Wednesday, May 14, at Spaceport America in New Mexico, where a small rocket equipped with the new engine lifted off at 7:37am local time. Venus CEO Sassie Duggleby said: 'This is the moment we've been working toward for five years.' The company plans to use the engine for its upcoming hypersonic jet, Stargazer, which is expected to reach Mach 4 (3,069 mph), four times the speed of sound. If approved for commercial travel, the $33 million jet could complete the 3,625-mile journey between New York and Paris in under an hour, nearly three times faster than the Concorde, which flew at 1,354 mph. The current flight takes about eight hours. Venus Aerospace aims to launch the aircraft in the early 2030s, with plans to carry up to 12 passengers per flight. Compared to traditional rocket engines, RDREs offer improved efficiency and compactness, making them particularly suited for advanced aerospace applications. 'We've proven that this technology works—not just in simulations or the lab, but in the air,' Duggleby said. 'With this milestone, we're one step closer to making high-speed flight accessible, affordable, and sustainable.' Theorized since the 1980s, a high-thrust RDRE capable of practical application has never been flown in a real-world test. Andrew Duggleby, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, said: 'Rotating detonation has been a long-sought gain in performance. 'Venus' RDRE solved the last but critical steps to harness the theoretical benefits of pressure gain combustion. We've built an engine that not only runs, but runs reliably and efficiently—and that's what makes it scalable. 'This is the foundation we need that, combined with a ramjet, completes the system from take-off to sustained hypersonic flight.' Venus's RDRE is also engineered to work with the company's exclusive VDR2 air-breathing detonation ramjet, an advanced propulsion system. If approved for commercial travel, the $33 million jet could complete the 3,625-mile journey between New York and Paris in under an hour, nearly three times faster than the Concorde, which flew at 1,354 mph It uses rotating detonation technology to achieve extremely high speeds, potentially Mach 5, which is five times the speed of sound or more. It pulls in air from the atmosphere instead of carrying oxygen onboard like a rocket does. Instead of slow burning, it relies on supersonic shock waves from detonations to move air and fuel through the engine rapidly. 'This pairing enables aircraft to take off from a runway and transition to speeds exceeding Mach 6, maintaining hypersonic cruise without the need for rocket boosters,' Venus shared in a statement. 'Venus is planning full-scale propulsion testing and vehicle integration of this system, moving toward their ultimate goal: the Stargazer M4, a Mach 4 reusable passenger aircraft.' If Stargazer comes to fruition, it will be the first passenger-carrying commercial airplane to go faster than the speed of sound since Concorde. Retired more than 20 years ago, Concorde flew at a maximum altitude of 60,000 feet. According to Venus Aerospace, its upcoming plane will not only be faster but will fly higher – up to 110,000 feet. Just like Concorde passengers almost a quarter of a century ago, Stargazer passengers will be high enough to see the curvature of Earth. This is where the horizon is a slight curve rather than a straight line, normally seen from 50,000 feet.
