The first mission from Oklahoma will involve micro-gravity experiments. The Aurora can reach an altitude of 100km – the Karman line or edge of space – and achieve three minutes of micro-gravity per flight.

“We didn’t originally anticipate selling the Aurora spaceplane. It was a tech demonstrator,” Powell told the Herald.

“But it got a lot more attention than we originally thought.”

There’s no immediate word of other deals but Powell says Dawn is fielding a lot of interest.

Concorde > Dawn

Late last year, the Aurora became the first civil aircraft to fly at supersonic speed since the Concorde – even if the autonomous spaceplane is a fraction of the size.

The Aurora surpassed the speed of sound for the first time on November 12, reaching Mach 1.1 as it climbed to an altitude of 82,500 feet (more than twice as high as the cruising altitude of a commercial airliner) after taking off from Glentanner Aerodrome near the base of Aoraki Mt Cook.

Dawn Aerospace was founded in 2017. Its three largest shareholders are Auckland-based Icehouse Ventures, Wellington-based venture capital firm Movac and Christchurch brothers Stefan and James Powell (who serves as chief financial officer).

Derek Handley’s Aera Climate & Frontier Fund was an early backer.

The firm also has minority investors in the Netherlands, with its 130 staff split between the two countries.

Growing satellite propulsion business

The Aurora tends to grab the headlines, but Dawn also has a second side to its business, selling propulsion systems for satellites – including those used by Lynk, a putative rival to Elon Musk’s Starlink that has deals with both Spark and One NZ for future supply of satellite broadband.

Dawn systems now power 26 satellites, Powell says, with another nine close to launch.

The current Aurora is the Mark II. Dawn Aerospace plans larger, higher-altitude and bigger-payload models over the next few years.

Oklahoma sees immediate applications for the Mark II.

“The next industrial revolution is happening in space, and the scientific research and commercialisation opportunities that exist in microgravity are transformational.

“Operating Dawn’s Aurora spaceplane at the Oklahoma Air and Space Port will both reduce costs and increase access to microgravity throughout the space industry,” said Jim Bridenstine, managing partner of the Artemis Group and former Nasa administrator.

“This important partnership positions the state of Oklahoma at the centre of American space innovation.”

Microgravity research is critical because it allows scientists to study physical and biological processes in ways that are impossible on Earth, the companies said.

In a weightless environment, fundamental forces like convection and gravity-driven fluid motion disappear, providing new insights into material science and biomedical research.

Frequent and low-cost access to microgravity will significantly accelerate discoveries, with potential breakthroughs in areas such as cancer and liver disease drug development, and advanced materials research.

Aurora Spaceplane – Key Specifications

Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald’s business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.