Today Dawn’s Mk-I vehicle achieved autonomous rocket power in flight, multiple times per hour. This marks an important milestone in the development of Dawn’s reusable launcher.

Bringing together Dawn’s 120N engine and Mk-0 vehicle, the Mk-I vehicle was developed to show true gas-and-go reusability in rocket-powered flight. The Mk-I integrates all the hardware and software from the MK-0 vehicle while adding the required payload of rocket engine and propellant, recovery parachute and telemetry up/downlink systems.

The Mk-I vehicle is part of a phased vehicle development plan, aiming to autonomously fly rocket-powered spacecraft to space, multiple times per day.