Dawn Aerospace begins taking orders for Aurora spaceplane

Aurora spaceplane. Photo: Dawn Aerospace

New Zealand-based Dawn Aerospace has announced that its Aurora spaceplane is now available for purchase, with first deliveries expected in 2027. This marks a historic milestone: the first time a space-capable vehicle – designed to fly beyond the Kármán line (328,000 ft) - has been offered for direct sale to customers.

Aurora is set to become the fastest and highest-flying aircraft ever to take off from a conventional runway, blending the extreme performance of rocket propulsion with the reusability and operational simplicity of traditional aviation. This breakthrough enables high-frequency, low-cost access to both high-altitudes and space.

Aurora introduces a business model akin to commercial airlines, where operators can purchase aircraft and deliver services independently of the manufacturer. Dawn’s suborbital spaceplane is engineered for high-frequency operations from traditional airports and spaceports worldwide. Capable of horizontal take-off and landing, rapid refuelling, and multiple flights per day, Aurora offers aircraft-like simplicity, cost-efficiency, and flexibility — enabling local operators to access both high altitudes and space from local runways on demand.

Game-changing platform
Stefan Powell, Dawn Aerospace’s CEO, said: “For the first time, customers have the opportunity to own an aircraft capable of reaching the edge of space. Aurora is a game-changing platform for governments, spaceports, and new spaceplane operators to access extreme altitudes and deliver vital services and programmes. It has been over a century since commercial airlines began — now it is time to launch the first spaceline.”

Aurora enables a new class of missions across defence, signals intelligence, surveillance, hypersonics, maritime patrol, and atmospheric research. It provides microgravity access for the semiconductor and life sciences industries, making it a powerful platform for advancing scientific discovery and national security.

In November 2024, on the 57th flight of Aurora, it reached supersonic speeds, Mach 1.12, and climbed to an altitude 82,500ft. In doing so, Aurora set a record for the fastest climb from runway to above 20km, breaking a nearly 50-year-old record previously held by the modified F-15 Streak Eagle.

Dawn Aerospace is now coordinating inaugural deliveries of Aurora with early adopters across research, commercial, and government sectors.