Dr. Andrew Duggleby
Co-founder and CTO of Venus Aerospace. B.S. Mechanical Engineering and B.S. Physics from Texas A&M, M.S. Mechanical Engineering from UT Austin, Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Tech; licensed professional engineer and Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve (Engineering Duty Officer). Previously Head of Launch Operations at Virgin Orbit, led development and hot-fire testing of a dual-mode 3D-printed rocket engine with NASA, and served on the mechanical engineering faculties of Virginia Tech and Texas A&M. He and his wife Sassie left Virgin Orbit in June 2020 to found Venus Aerospace.
Andrew Duggleby co-founded Venus Aerospace with his wife Sassie Duggleby in June 2020, after the couple left Virgin Orbit to pursue a hypersonic passenger jet built around detonation-based propulsion. As CTO, he leads engineering on Venus's rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE), an architecture pursued for decades but not previously flown at high thrust; in May 2025 the company completed the first U.S. flight test of a high-thrust RDRE at Spaceport America, New Mexico. Before Venus, he co-founded Exosent Engineering in 2010 with Yuval Doron, a Texas firm making transport trailers for hazardous-materials and liquid hauling. He also was an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Texas A&M and Virginia Tech, Head of Launch Operations at Virgin Orbit, and holds an ongoing commission as a Lieutenant Commander (Engineering Duty Officer) in the U.S. Navy Reserve.
Overview
- Role
- Co-Founder & CTO, Venus Aerospace
- Based in
- Houston, TX
- Prior experience
- Virgin Orbit (Head of Launch Operations), NASA (dual-mode 3D-printed engine hot-fire), Exosent Engineering (co-founder), Virginia Tech & Texas A&M (faculty)
- linkedin.com/in/andrew-duggleby
Affiliated funds0
No linked records yet.
Frequently asked
- Who is Dr. Andrew Duggleby?
- Andrew Duggleby co-founded Venus Aerospace with his wife Sassie Duggleby in June 2020, after the couple left Virgin Orbit to pursue a hypersonic passenger jet built around detonation-based propulsion. As CTO, he leads engineering on Venus's rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE), an architecture pursued for decades but not previously flown at high thrust; in May 2025 the company completed the first U.S. flight test of a high-thrust RDRE at Spaceport America, New Mexico. Before Venus, he co-founded Exosent Engineering in 2010 with Yuval Doron, a Texas firm making transport trailers for hazardous-materials and liquid hauling. He also was an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Texas A&M and Virginia Tech, Head of Launch Operations at Virgin Orbit, and holds an ongoing commission as a Lieutenant Commander (Engineering Duty Officer) in the U.S. Navy Reserve.
- What is Dr. Andrew Duggleby's role?
- Dr. Andrew Duggleby is Co-Founder & CTO, Venus Aerospace, based in Houston, TX.
- Where did Dr. Andrew Duggleby work before?
- Dr. Andrew Duggleby's prior roles include Virgin Orbit (Head of Launch Operations), NASA (dual-mode 3D-printed engine hot-fire), Exosent Engineering (co-founder), Virginia Tech & Texas A&M (faculty).
Sources & citations3
Each claim links to its underlying source. Confidence reflects how directly the source supports the claim.
- 1
Andrew Duggleby is co-founder and CTO of Venus Aerospace; bio: ex-Virgin Orbit Head of Launch Operations; led dual-mode 3D-printed rocket engine hot-fire development with NASA; Virginia Tech / Texas A&M faculty; U.S. Navy Reserve Lieutenant Commander
Venus Aerospace: TeamVerified2026-08-05 - 2
In May 2025, Venus Aerospace conducted the first U.S. flight test of a high-thrust rotating detonation rocket engine at Spaceport America, New Mexico; Duggleby said the engine 'not only runs, but runs reliably and efficiently'
Military Aerospace: Venus Aerospace conducts first US flight test of rotating detonation rocket engineVerified2025-05-16 - 3
Andrew Duggleby co-founded Exosent Engineering in 2010 with Yuval Doron, a College Station, TX company manufacturing hazardous-materials transport trailers; ranked 17th on the 2015 Aggie 100 list
Texas A&M University Engineering: Exosent Engineering 17th in Aggie 100Verified2015-11-01