In a world-first, the NZ Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has granted Dawn Aerospace an Unmanned Aircraft Operator Certificate to fly a suborbital spaceplane from a conventional airport.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has granted €385K to launch provider, Dawn Aerospace for novel 3D printing techniques on rocket engines.

The launch marks a significant milestone in the world of space hardware compliance. Vega launched the first-ever ECSS compliant propulsion system made using 3D printing.

Christchurch based start-up, Dawn Aerospace, has been awarded “Hi-Tech Start-up Company of the Year” at the 2020 NZ Hi-Tech awards.

Today Dawn Aerospace unveiled its new suborbital spaceplane, the “Dawn Mk-II Aurora”, ahead of an intensive 12 month flight test campaign. The Aurora is the latest development in a series of test vehicles that will one day launch satellites to space.

The B20 qualification thruster has been put through its paces over the last three months, clocking up thousands of burns in preparation for flight. It is now getting close to the end and we wanted to share some preliminary results.

Dawn Aerospace will be at this year’s Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference presenting the Mk-II suborbital vehicle.

The winning individual or team will receive a free payload flight to 100km altitude on the Mk-II in the South Island of New Zealand, valued at ~USD 50,000.

Dawn Aerospace is pleased to announce the signing of an MOU with the Waitaki District Council for suborbital flights out of Oamaru Airport, New Zealand.