Following its historic rocket engine flight test, Pam Melroy lends decades of aerospace leadership as Venus captures share of a $100B+ propulsion market

HOUSTON, Sept. 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Venus Aerospace, the Houston-based startup redefining rocket engine propulsion, today announced the appointment of aerospace veteran Pamela Melroy, former NASA Deputy Administrator, to its Board of Directors.

Melroy is one of the most accomplished figures in aerospace, whose career spans military, government, commercial, and international leadership. Her experiences include flying combat missions in the U.S. Air Force, sustaining America’s International Space Station, and serving as a NASA astronaut. As an executive leader at NASA, DARPA, and the FAA, Melroy shaped America’s strategy in space, accelerated commercial space partnerships, and deepened space exploration. In the private sector, Melroy has held industry leadership roles including at Lockheed Martin, as well as board and advisory positions with defense contractors, and has advised on the establishment of the Australian Space Agency. Earlier in her career, Melroy became one of only two women to ever command a Space Shuttle mission.

“Pam is a preeminent leader in the world of aerospace and has already shaped the future of industry through her leadership at NASA,” said Sassie Duggleby, Co-founder and CEO of Venus Aerospace. “We’re honored to welcome her at a moment when Venus has taken our historic rocket engine from concept to flight-proven. Pam brings extraordinary experience and vision to help us scale this breakthrough and capture a $100 billion propulsion market.”

“Advanced rocket propulsion has been of interest to me for over a decade, and Venus Aerospace’s recent achievements in demonstrating the stability of rotating detonation rocket engines represent a significant development. I’m excited to join the team in scaling this transformational capability.” said Melroy.

Redefining Propulsion: A Generational Leap in Technology 60 Years in the Making

Venus Aerospace has delivered the first major advance in rocket engines in more than six decades and is now the only company in the world with a flight-proven, high-thrust Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE). In flight, Venus’s RDRE delivers 15% greater efficiency than legacy systems and increases payload-to-orbit capacity by up to four times.

In May 2025, Venus completed the first-ever flight of its RDRE. This historic test proved that detonation-based propulsion is flight-ready and capable of outperforming legacy engines in efficiency, size, and cost. Since then, Venus has seen a surge of interest in its engines across the multi-billion aerospace industry. With unmatched performance and a design built for scale, the company is positioned to be the premier propulsion company powering aerospace.

About Venus Aerospace: Founded in 2020, Venus Aerospace is revolutionizing rocket engine technology. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, the company is building the world’s first scalable platform for high-performance, reusable propulsion based on its proprietary Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE) and Venus Detonation Ramjet (VDR). Together, these systems form a next-generation engine architecture that enables continuous flight from takeoff to hypersonic cruise on a single integrated platform—unlocking breakthrough capabilities across defense, space, and commercial high-speed flight. Venus’s technology is designed to power the next era of aerospace innovation, from space launch and a range of military applications to the company’s long-term commercial vision: Stargazer M4, a future high-speed aircraft capable of two-hour global travel. Venus is backed by top-tier investors including Airbus Ventures, America’s Frontier Fund, Trousdale Ventures, and Prime Movers Lab, and is supported by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFWERX), NASA, DARPA, and the United States Air Force. To learn more, visit: www.venusaero.com.

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