Pilot Cam, Mk-II Aurora at Apogee, 82,500ft altitude. Photo: Dawn AerospaceMulti-national aerospace company
Dawn Aerospace has made history with the successful supersonic flight of its Mk-II Aurora rocket-powered aircraft, making it one of the fastest privately-developed aircraft on the planet. The company, operating as Dawn Hypersonics, achieved the milestone on 12 November, with the Aurora surpassing the speed of sound for the first time, reaching Mach 1.1 and climbing to an altitude of 82,500ft.
This is over twice as high as commercial aircraft and marks the first time a civil aeroplane has flown supersonic since the iconic Concorde. This achievement signifies a major step toward operational hypersonic travel and daily space access, establishing rocket-powered aircraft as a new class of ultra-high-performance vehicles.
The flight, conducted from New Zealand’s Glentanner Aerodrome near the base of Aoraki Mt Cook, exceeded its test target speeds and altitude of Mach 1.05 and 75,000ft. The Aurora also set a global record, becoming the fastest aircraft to climb from ground level to 20km, completing the ascent in just 118.6sec. This beats the previous record, held by a highly-modified F-15 ‘Streak Eagle’ in the 1970s, by 4.2sec.
Stefan Powell, CEO of Dawn Aerospace, said: “This achievement highlights the immense potential of rocket-powered aircraft to achieve performance never seen before. With flight test 57, we retired the final major technical risk in the Aurora programme — vehicle dynamics through the transonic regime. We have now confirmed the Aurora as the highest climb rate vehicle ever built. This milestone sets the stage for Aurora to become the world’s highest and fastest-flying aircraft and paves the way for the first operational hypersonic aircraft, redefining what is possible in aviation.”
The Aurora is designed to fly to the edge of space — 100km altitude — twice in a single day, reaching speeds of Mach 3.5 during ascent and re-entry. The Mk-II Aurora is powered by pure rocket propulsion, which features thrust-to-weight ratios 20-times higher than conventional jet engines, and is not limited to operation within the atmosphere. These capabilities make it ideal for applications such as microgravity research, atmospheric science, Earth observation, and testing high-speed flight.
Dawn Hypersonics will now focus on advancing hypersonic flight, with a strong emphasis on international markets. Key research, development, and flight testing will continue in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Mr Powell continued: “As a company, we have been working for more than seven years to design, develop, test, and deliver supersonic flight. We are now achieving this and will start commercial payload operations in the coming months under the Dawn Hypersonics brand. We are grateful to the New Zealand government and people for their part in helping us achieve this important milestone. With access to vast open skies and test ranges in the South Pacific, New Zealand is poised to become a global hub for advanced aerospace testing, including hypersonic research.
He concluded: “Dawn Aerospace’s achievements position the country at the forefront of this exciting new frontier in aviation. We look forward to continuing to work with our international customers, Tāwhaki National Aerospace Centre, and the New Zealand Space Agency as we progress our capability and deliver on commercial operations.”