The prestigious New Zealand International Business Awards (NZIBA) were held last night with Dawn Aerospace coming out on top in the Best Emerging Business category.

The NZIBA is run by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and dates back over 50 years, showcasing a history of successful export businesses. Aotearoa is home to many talented exporters who are growing the economy as well as putting New Zealand on the world stage. We were up against some remarkable competition across a range of sectors, making the win even more of an achievement for our team.

Dawn CEO and Co-founder, Stefan Powell described the win as “wonderful recognition of the rapidly growing space sector in Aotearoa and Dawn Aerospace’s contribution to the industry.  I’d like to acknowledge the hard work, passion and dedication of our talented team.”

Dawn is a space transportation company, specialising in non-toxic chemical satellite propulsion and sustainable space launch. We have provided in-space propulsion products – used to propel satellites – to customers globally since 2019. These propulsion units have launched on SpaceX, Soyuz and Vega launchers. Customers for our products include a hyperspectral Earth-imaging company, space tug providers and government entities.  

Our Mk-II suborbital spaceplane is designed for multiple flights per day to 100km and above and has been certified for flight in New Zealand. The vehicle, a precursor to our Mk-III spaceplane, is capable of capturing atmospheric data and will be used as a technology demonstrator.

The past two years have not come without challenges, as many international businesses will attest. “It’s been a challenging time - border restrictions, supply chain holdups and so on. Our team really stepped up,” said James Powell, CFO and Co-founder. “Dawn’s agility and robust business model has meant despite it all, we continue to grow rapidly. We’ve come out in a stronger position than ever before. I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved.”

Our vision is an ambitious one, enabling access to space in a sustainable, affordable and reliable way. It’s a vision that is being delivered, with our team moving to larger Christchurch premises last year to keep up with growing demand for products and scaled R&D. Dawn hopes to revolutionise space transportation and being the recipient of this award is another step toward that future.