Dawn Aerospace

Pilot cam view from Aurora as it reaches 82,500 ft

Aircraft

Rocket plane makes first civil supersonic flight since Concorde

The rebirth of commercial supersonic flight has kind of, sort of come to pass as Dawn Aerospace announces that its 16-ft (4.8-m) autonomous Mk-II Aurora rocket-powered aircraft broke the sound barrier with a speed of Mach 1.1 on November 12, 2024.

The Mk-II Aurora rocket-powered suborbital spaceplane has been cleared for unlimited-speed test flights at an altitude of up to 80,000 ft

Aircraft

Rocket-powered Aurora is a go for unlimited-speed high-altitude flight

The Mk-II Aurora suborbital spaceplane took to the skies last year for its maiden flight with a rocket engine. Now Dawn Aerospace has been give the official nod from New Zealand's Civil Aviation Authority to undertake test flights at unlimited speeds.

Space

Mk-II Aurora suborbital spaceplane makes first rocket-powered flights

Back in 2021, we heard how the Mk-II Aurora suborbital spaceplane had made its first test flights … but it was using surrogate jet engines. Now, however, the vehicle has made its first flights using an actual rocket engine.

Space

Reusable spaceplane demonstrator completes 5 test flights in 3 days

Dawn Aerospace has announced that it has successfully completed five test flights of its uncrewed Mk-II Aurora suborbital spaceplane in the skies over Glentanner Aerodrome on New Zealand’s South Island using surrogate jet engines instead of a rocket.