Dawn Aerospace ($5.5m funding) unveiled their ‘Dawn Mk-II Aurora’ sub-orbital spaceplane this week. The 4.8m long aircraft is capable of speeds in excess of Mach 3, has a maximum takeoff weight of 280kg.
Target Market
Aimed at the CubeSat launch market this vehicle is a stepping stone towards an 18m long Mk-III vehicle that will have the capability to deliver 50-100kg satellites to orbit. Launches on the Mk-II vehicle are priced at $50,000 USD per flight with payload capability of three CubeSats or ‘3U’.
Payload and Research Capabilities
The cargo can be flown up to an altitude of 50-80km for mesospheric research and/or be exposed to a microgravity environment for up to three minutes. The Aurora Mk-II is said to be capable of conducting such flights multiple times per day.
Specifications
- Length: 4.8m
- Maximum takeoff weight: 280kg
- Empty weight: 75kg
- Maximum speed: Mach 3+
- Payload mass: less than 4kg
- Payload dimensions: 30cm x 10cm x 10cm
- Altitude: 50-80km
- Price per flight: $50,000 USD
Propulsion Technology
Alongside their spaceplane programme the company are commercialising novel CubeSat and SmallSat propulsion modules that utilise non-toxic nitrous oxide and propene propellants.
Company Locations
The company’s offices are in both Delft in the Netherlands and Christchurch, New Zealand - from where they expect first flights to take-off, having signed an MOU with the Waitaki District Council for suborbital flights out of South Island’s Oamaru Airport, situated near to the coast some 200km south-west of Christchurch.
The Mk-II Aurora was jointly developed in both the Netherlands and New Zealand, with the factory where it was built located in Delft.
Subsequent Achievements
On 12 November 2024, the Mk-II Aurora spaceplane broke the sound barrier for the first time, becoming the first airplane designed and manufactured in New Zealand to do so.
