Dawn Aerospace has received Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) certification to fly its Mk-II Aurora spaceplane at unlimited speeds, including supersonic, at up to 80,000 feet altitude.
The certification also permits operations beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) without the need for restricted airspace.
A rocket-powered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the Mk-II Aurora is designed to be the first aircraft ever to fly to 100 km altitude (the edge of space) twice in a single day.
Rapidly reusable and low cost, the Mk-II Aurora is suited for a variety of applications in microgravity, high speed flight research, earth observation, as well as other defense and civil uses.
Dawn Aerospace state that the certification is the result of years of close collaboration between the company and local agencies, including the CAA, NZ Space Agency, Airways and local airspace users.
Together, they have worked to understand how to safely integrate high-performance vehicles with existing airspace users, addressing the necessary vehicle and operational requirements.
Mk-II Aurora Testing & Development
Dawn Aerospace aims to fly its Mk-II vehicle at up to 100 km altitude, multiple times per day.
Since the first flight of the Mk-II Aurora in July 2021, Dawn has completed 50 flight tests under both jet and rocket power, operating under more restrictive licenses.
Since its last flights in 2023, where it achieved speeds of 200 knots and altitudes of 9,000 feet, the Mk-II vehicle has undergone extensive upgrades and testing.
The final pre-flight test, an all-up systems test, included a 60-second firing and restart of its engine to demonstrate go-around capability.
The upcoming flight test campaign, scheduled from July through September 2024, will consist of up to a dozen flights. The primary objective is to expand the vehicle’s envelope to Mach 1.1 (supersonic) and 70,000 feet. A secondary objective is to demonstrate two flights in a day to showcase rapid reusability.
Dawn Aerospace CEO, Stefan Powell, commented; “This unlocks the next major performance milestone for the Mk-II vehicle, namely supersonic flight. To the best of our knowledge, this would be the first privately funded UAV to break the sound barrier.
“Receiving this certification is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team, and their ability to operate such a high-performance vehicle to the standards the CAA expects of any aircraft operator.
“At full performance, the Mk-II will fly faster and 2.5 times higher than any prior aircraft that takes off from a runway, including the current record holder, the SR-71 Blackbird. That is the power of bringing rocket performance to an aircraft platform.
“I would like to publicly thank all NZ public agencies and local airspace users for their continued support in our mission of scalable and sustainable space transportation.
