NZ Space Agency backs Dawn Aerospace

The New Zealand Government is investing in the development of Dawn’s environmentally friendly satellite propulsion technology, aimed at displacing the deadly toxic fuel, hydrazine. 

The investment was made by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment through its $3 million Catalyst Space Fund, which supports strategic partnerships in satellite and space vehicle technologies.

Dawn will use this funding for international R&D collaboration on performance enhancements of its environmentally friendly satellite propulsion systems. This project presents an exciting opportunity for Dawn to build on their successes to date, working to eliminate the global dependence for hydrazine

“We have a lot of global interest and deals coming through for this technology,” said Jeroen Wink, Dawn CEO. “There is serious global demand in our green alternative and this funding will help achieve some key enhancements needed for large bus sizes, like infinite burn times. In doing so, the performance of this technology will then exceed the performance of hydrazine in all aspects.”

Talking about the strategic space fund, International Science Partnerships Manager Simon Rae said the investment will help to develop the capability of New Zealand’s space sector.

“These partnerships enable New Zealand’s researchers to gain access to a wider range of experience and resources than they can currently access domestically,” Mr Rae said.

Catalyst Space is MBIE’s second dedicated investment in space research, following on from the Minister of Research, Science and Innovation’s 7 November announcement that New Zealand would commit $26 million to partner in the MethaneSAT satellite mission.

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