Hypersonic technology is all the rage right now, although the specific concepts and applications are hardly new. However, that’s not stopping the mad rush of aerospace companies from trying to inject hypersonic capabilities into everything from missiles to aircraft to space planes and beyond.

Even Hollywood recently dipped their toes into the super-fast game by bringing in Lockheed Martin’s legendary Skunk Works to help develop their fictional hypersonic jet for the blockbuster “Top Gun: Maverick.”

Ambitious startup Venus Aerospace recently joined the growing crowd of companies trying to achieve hypersonic flight when they unveiled their revolutionary “Stargazer” concept vehicle at the UP.Vertex (opens in a new tab) in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Formed in 2017, the UP.Summit is an exclusive, invitation-only gathering that attracts a diverse cross-section of corporate CEOs, innovative startup founders, visionary investors, and deep-pocketed capital allocators with more $1 trillion in potential funding assets.

Related: Stratolaunch unveils its first hypersonic design for high-altitude flight

The “Stargazer” is the first concept hypersonic vehicle from the Houston, Texas-based company, and its futuristic needle-nose shape is certainly a stark departure from most passenger aircraft.

“Stargazer” was envisioned as a next-generation Mach 9 hypersonic drone as well as a Mach 9 manned aircraft, and both variants are hypothetically capable of a fast lap around the Earth in about an hour. Hypersonic aircraft of this nature would take off from a conventional airport at subsonic speeds before zooming through the wild blue there to the edge of outer space (170,000 feet or 51,816 meters) in hypersonic mode.

The proposed dimensions of the aircraft are 100 feet (30.5 m) wide by 150 feet (46 m) long when an actual physical model is built. The “Stargazer” will tip the scales at 150,000 pounds (68,039 kilograms) and will seat a maximum of 12 passengers.

Venus Aerospace was founded just two years ago by Sarah “Sassie” Duggleby and Dr. Andrew Duggleby. Their main goal for this sleek contraption that could hypothetically reach speeds of almost 7,000 mph (11,000 km/h) is to get ticket holders to their destinations in record time while also being very eco-friendly. environment.

This new aerospace player has already secured $33 million in funding from private investors, which includes significant venture capital investments, and an additional $1 million in cash from the government. Venus also bolstered its balance sheet by recently announcing an additional $20 million raised in a Series A offering led by Prime Movers Lab, a venture capital firm that invests in breakthrough science startups.

Details as to what type of eco-friendly fuel the “Stargazer” will consume have yet to be revealed as the hypersonic craft is still in the early design stages, and some questions about noise pollution have not yet been revealed. haven’t found an answer yet.

“We worked with NASA at Johnson Space Center and were able to access information from sonic boom tests for the space shuttle program,” Duggleby said in a statement. In-flight interview (opens in a new tab). “We have determined that at altitude and flying speed, you will not be able to hear us – we will be flying at 170,000 feet at Mach 9.”

With an optimistic game plan underway, Venus has already developed and built a technology demonstration engine and performed pivotal tests in hypersonic wind tunnels and propulsion labs across the country. The company hopes to begin testing subsonic and supersonic drones next year.

Follow us on twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.