Dawn Aerospace demos rapid reusability with back-to-back rocket-powered flights

Reuters Events SMR and Advanced Reactor 2025

Dawn Aerospace demos rapid reusability with back-to-back rocket-powered flights
by Simon Mansfield
Sydney, Australia (SPX) Oct 07, 2024

Dawn Aerospace has successfully demonstrated the same-day reusability of its rocket-powered aircraft, the Mk-II Aurora, completing two flights within an 8-hour window. Both flights, conducted from Glentanner Aerodrome in New Zealand, reached speeds of Mach 0.9, or 950 km/h, and an altitude of 63,000 feet. These missions mark the 8th and 9th rocket-powered flights of the Mk-II Aurora.

"Rapid reusability has been termed the 'holy grail' for rocket-powered systems," said Stefan Powell, CEO of Dawn Aerospace. "This milestone shows that our fundamental concept will unlock never before seen performance and hypersonic flight in a platform suitable for everyday operations, not just one-off research and development."

The Mk-II Aurora is designed to be the first vehicle capable of reaching 100 km altitude-the edge of space-twice within a single day. Its performance mirrors that of the first stage of an orbital-class two-stage rocket. However, unlike traditional rockets, the Aurora operates as a certified aircraft, utilizing a conventional runway and requiring no exclusive airspace.

"Being certified as an aircraft is essential to rapid reusability," said Powell. "Our licence permits us to fly as often as the vehicle allows. At present, we can fly every 4 hours with scope to reduce turnaround time further."

The flights were part of a vehicle envelope expansion program to study vehicle dynamics in the transonic regime. Demonstrating same-day reusability was a secondary objective. In previous test campaigns, Dawn Aerospace successfully completed three flights over three days.

Same-day reusability plays a key role in Dawn's strategy for rapid iterative development. It also positions the Mk-II Aurora for various applications, including high-speed flight research, microgravity experiments, Earth observation, atmospheric science, and future hypersonic vehicle operations. Dawn has already secured several US customers to fly payloads on the Mk-II Aurora by Q4 2024.

New Zealand is uniquely positioned to become a hub for advanced aviation and hypersonic flight testing. The country offers access to expansive skies and sea space over the South Pacific Ocean, along with a regulatory framework conducive to testing advanced aircraft. This advantage is further enhanced by the Tawhaki National Aerospace Centre, located just 45 minutes south of Dawn Aerospace's headquarters in Christchurch.

Powell concluded, "The pace of development at Dawn is astounding right now. The team is moving at lightspeed and crushing tough goals. I am super proud of them. It's an exciting time to be at the cutting edge of high-performance aircraft!"