Venus Aerospace Opens New Propulsion Test Stand at Houston Spaceport
Venus Aerospace today officially opened its new propulsion test stand at the Houston Spaceport, adding critical infrastructure to support the continued development and maturation of its rotating detonation rocket engine technology.
Pictured from left: Clint Stephen, Houston Airport System; Congressman Morgan Luttrell; Francisco Cuellar, Houston Airport System; Norman Garza, Texas Space Commission; Sassie Duggleby, Venus Aerospace; Andrew Duggleby, Venus Aerospace; Houston City Councilmember Fred Flickinger; Houston City Councilmember Sallie Alcorn; Arturo Machuca, Ellington Airport and Houston Spaceport; and Brian Freedman, Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership.
The test stand was made possible through funding from the Texas Space Commission’s Space Exploration and Aeronautics Research Fund, part of the state’s investment in growing Texas’ aerospace and space economy. Venus completed the facility on time and on budget.
“Building and testing propulsion systems at this pace requires the right infrastructure around the technology,” said Sassie Duggleby, CEO and co-founder of Venus Aerospace. “We’re grateful to the Texas Space Commission and the State of Texas for investing alongside companies like Venus. Public investment like this helps companies move faster and keeps critical aerospace capability growing here in Texas.”
The new stand expands Venus’ ability to test at higher thrust and for longer durations, allowing the company to more closely replicate mission conditions. Together with Venus’ existing test infrastructure, it also increases overall testing capacity as the company scales integrated propulsion systems toward customer use.
Following the ribbon cutting, guests observed a live hot-fire test of a Venus rotating detonation rocket engine on the newly opened stand.
The September 10 opening brought together leaders from Venus Aerospace, the Texas Space Commission, the Houston Spaceport and Houston business and community leaders.
The opening comes during a period of rapid growth for Venus. In 2026, Venus has closed a $91 million Series B, expanded its leadership team and announced new customer and strategic relationships supporting the continued development and application of its propulsion technology. That business growth builds on significant technical progress, including the world’s first successful flight test of a high-thrust rotating detonation rocket engine in May 2025 and continued ground testing as Venus advances the technology toward customer use.
About Venus Aerospace
Venus Aerospace is building next-generation propulsion systems for defense, space, and future high-speed flight. Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Houston, Texas, Venus is developing flight-proven Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE) technology designed to deliver greater efficiency, range, and scalability for defense and space missions. Venus’ propulsion systems are designed for domestic manufacturing and mission flexibility across national security and aerospace applications. Venus is backed by Mercury Fund, Lockheed Martin Ventures, Prime Movers Lab, Airbus Ventures, Trousdale Ventures and others. To learn more, visit www.venusaero.com.
