I have previously mentioned that New Zealand leads the world in private companies accessing space. Rocket Lab is fully operational and launches satellites on its NZ built conveyance from its launch facility on the Mahia Peninsula, near Gisborne in the North Island.
Now, almost up and running and currently testing is Dawn Aerospace in Canterbury, the South Island's largest province. The vehicle is a purpose built rocket aircraft for launching payloads into space. The aircraft has approval and can potentially launch from any airport in the world.
Their aircraft, the Mk-II Aurora became the first civil aircraft to go supersonic since Concorde, when it went supersonic on the 12th November, 2024.
https://www.dawnaerospace.com/latest-news/certifiedsupersonic
Dawn Aerospace, proudly announces that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has awarded it a certificate to fly the Mk-II Aurora at unlimited speeds, including supersonic, up to 80,000 feet altitude. This certification permits operations beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) without the need for restricted airspace.
The Mk-II Aurora is a rocket-powered aircraft, designed to be the first vehicle ever to fly to 100 km altitude, the edge of space, twice in a single day. It is rapidly reusable and low cost, making it well suited for a variety of applications in microgravity, high speed flight research, earth observation, as well as other defence and civil uses.
“This unlocks the next major performance milestone for the Mk-II vehicle, namely supersonic flight,” said CEO, Stefan Powell. “To the best of our knowledge, this would be the first privately funded UAV to break the sound barrier.”
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