Los Angeles to Tokyo in about an hour? Yes, please: Venus Aerospace Corp., a startup pursuing a hypersonic space plane, aims to have a pilot hit rocket boosters and blast an aircraft to the edge of space at more than 9,000 mph, or about 12 times the speed of sound. The plane would travel at that speed for about 15 minutes, finally gliding against the atmosphere to slow itself down, cruising back to Earth to land at a conventional airport.
Bloomberg reports, Venus now has 15 employees, most veterans of the space industry, and has received investment from venture capital firms, including Prime Movers Lab and Draper Associates.
"Every few decades, humans attempt this," says Andrew Duggleby, Co-Founder and CTO of Venus Aerospace, in a tacit acknowledgment of the idea's repeated failure. "This time it will work."
Read: Why we invested in Venus Aerospace: Unlocking one-hour global travel at the edge of space
Brandon Simmons @ Prime Movers Lab - Medium
Los Angeles to Tokyo in about an hour? Yes, please
