Mikhail Kokorich is a serial entrepreneur operating at the technology frontier of aerospace.

Following a string of successful business launches in areas such as satellite technology, his latest venture, Swiss-based Destinus is developing an hypersonic aircraft capable of linking different continents at speeds five times faster than sound.

This may sound outlandish, but there is currently a wave of startups that taking advantages of advances in materials science and renewed interest among the world’s governments in hypersonic capabilities in order to explore this potentially disruptive technology.

I really appreciated Mikhail’s straightforward and not-mincing-words style in addressing some of the aspects of hypersonics development, from the role of military research projects to the sustainability angle.

This direct, hands-on approach is also evident in some of the startup’s latest milestones. Far from working on abstract concepts, Destinus is already testing some small-scale prototypes (not hypersonically yet!) and is creating a network of partners across Europe (for example, it recently received a €13M grant from the Spanish government to further its research in this field). Some new tangible developments are expected in the next few months.

So, how long before we are able to hop across the Atlantic in a couple of hours?

Tune in for this fascinating conversation (despite my voice still ailing from a cold!) about one of the most exciting aerospace technologies currently under development!