Imagine traveling from New York to London in just one hour. That’s the promise of the Stargazer, a hypersonic jet being developed by Texas-based Venus Aerospace. The jet, set to reach speeds of 4,600 mph, could revolutionize transatlantic travel by cutting the flight time from the current seven hours down to just sixty minutes.
Powered by the cutting-edge Venus Detonation Ramjet 2,000-pound Thrust Engine (VDR2), the Stargazer will first take off using traditional jet engines. Once it reaches a suitable altitude, the VDR2 kicks in, propelling the plane at Mach 6—six times the speed of sound. At its peak, the jet will soar up to 110,000 feet, allowing passengers a breathtaking view of the Earth’s curvature.
The project has already raised $33 million in funding, and Venus Aerospace plans to begin engine tests in 2025 using hypersonic drones. The goal is to make this high-speed travel a reality, with the technology potentially applicable to both commercial airliners and military drones.
Although the Stargazer is still in development, it represents a giant leap toward a future where long-haul flights are drastically shortened. Competing projects from NASA and Boom Supersonic also aim to make high-speed air travel more accessible, but none match the speed and altitude targets set by the Stargazer.
