Velontra

Velontra is an aerospace and defense company focused on developing hypersonic propulsion systems and vehicles. Founded in 2020 by Joel Darin, Robert Keane, and Zachary Green, and headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, the company aims to reduce the cost and timeline of propulsion design cycles. The founding team combines extensive experience from military and private sectors. Robert Keane is a Force Recon Marine veteran with a master's degree in Aerospace Engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and has worked at GE Aviation and BAE Systems. Joel Darin, the company's CTO, is an authority on jet engine afterburners with a background at GE Aviation and Hermeus, holding a master's degree in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech. Zachary Green, a Marine Corps veteran and successful entrepreneur, brings a lean startup mentality to the venture.

The company's business strategy is to generate revenue through a series of dual-use products for both defense and commercial clients, which also serve to advance the technology required for its long-term goals. Velontra has secured government and commercial contracts and participated in the Y Combinator accelerator program in the summer of 2022. The firm operates on a vertically integrated model, designing and building both the propulsion system and the vehicle platform concurrently to increase efficiency.

Velontra's primary product is a hypersonic space plane designed for flexible and reliable access to Low Earth Orbit (LEO). This vehicle is engineered for horizontal takeoff from any standard runway, which increases launch reliability compared to traditional vertical launches. Its key feature is an air-breathing propulsion system that uses oxygen from the atmosphere, making it significantly more fuel-efficient than conventional rockets and allowing for greater payload capacity. The flight plan involves taking off with a jet propulsion system, climbing to over 100,000 feet at speeds exceeding Mach 5, and then launching a second-stage rocket to deliver payloads directly into orbit. A key development is the 'Bronco' engine, a small, afterburning turbo-ramjet system designed to power unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) past Mach 5. This engine has been successfully tested in wind tunnels, and the company has a contract to supply these systems to Venus Aerospace for their test UAVs.

Keywords: hypersonic propulsion, space plane, Low Earth Orbit, aerospace defense, air-breathing engine, unmanned aerial vehicles, satellite launch, attritable aerospace, rapid prototyping, propulsion design