Dawn Aerospace, a space transportation company, today announced the successful completion of the first rocket-powered flight campaign of its spaceplane, the Mk-II Aurora.

I am stoked to share with you a significant milestone in our journey towards revolutionizing space transportation. Last week, our team successfully conducted three rocket-powered flights of the Mk-II Aurora.

I am excited to announce we have received certification from the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand (CAA) for the imminent rocket-powered flight campaign of our Mk-II Aurora spaceplane.

Dawn is creating a sustainable, integrated space-transportation network. Valued at NZ$170 million, the company provides in-space propulsion technology for satellites, with systems on eight operational spacecraft.

The Airspace Integration Trials programme was established to facilitate the safe testing, development and market validation of advanced unmanned aircraft, and accelerate their integration into the NZ aviation system.

Dawn Aerospace has conducted five flights of the company’s Mk-II Aurora suborbital spaceplane.

Future actions include Dawn establishing a presence at CASP, working with CASP to create a relationship with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and, eventually, conducting test flights and spaceplane launches.

Dawn Aerospace has today announced significant backing from NZ’s largest tech investment firm, Movac.

This MIT R&D collaboration is focused on developing a low-power radar system for the Mk-II Aurora that will detect other aircraft. The new sense and avoid capabilities will support unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) certification across Europe.

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.

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.

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.