Dawn Aerospace announced on May 22nd that it has commenced taking orders for its uncrewed Aurora spaceplane, designed for suborbital flights carrying small payloads. This New Zealand-based company is pioneering a novel approach, selling the spaceplane to customers for their own operation, mirroring the commercial airline industry rather than the traditional spaceflight model of selling launch services.
“There are many out there who would love to have this capability and be willing to pay for it, but they simply can’t get their hands on it. It’s not for sale,” Stefan Powell, chief executive of Dawn Aerospace, stated during a May 22nd webinar hosted by the Global Spaceport Alliance. He highlighted the scalability of the airline model, contrasting it with the limitations of the current space launch market. “The airline model presents us with a far more scalable model for transportation, and one that we would really like to draw on.”
Aurora's development has involved years of testing, including a November 2024 flight where the Mark 2 Aurora achieved supersonic speeds of Mach 1.12 and a peak altitude of 25.1 kilometers. Powell emphasized the vehicle's design: “This is an aircraft with the performance of a rocket, not a rocket with wings,” highlighting its inherent reliability, reusability, and scalability.
The new suborbital version of Aurora incorporates increased propellant and engine thrust, along with reaction control system thrusters for atmospheric control. The first suborbital vehicle is expected to be flight-ready within 18 months, commencing a six-to-nine-month test program. A typical flight involves a runway takeoff, reaching speeds of Mach 3.5, providing about three minutes of microgravity, and concluding with a runway landing after approximately half an hour.
Powered by a 90% hydrogen peroxide and kerosene D60 propellant engine, the 450-kilogram spaceplane requires a 1,000-meter runway. Dawn Aerospace has demonstrated a six-hour turnaround time, aiming for a four-hour turnaround, potentially enabling “the first aircraft ever — the first vehicle of any kind, actually — to fly above the Kármán Line twice in one day.”
Orders are being accepted for deliveries starting in 2027. While pricing isn’t publicly disclosed, Powell suggested customized pricing and estimated a per-flight cost of $100,000 as “absolutely tenable,” potentially higher for customized missions. With projected 100 flights annually and a 1,000-flight design life, the total revenue per vehicle could reach approximately $100 million.
Early customers include Arizona State University, California Polytechnic State University, Johns Hopkins University, and Scout Space, highlighting the market demand. Powell foresees applications in microgravity life sciences, semiconductor research, and defense payload testing. “There is real commercial demand in suborbital flight, even with this small vehicle size,” he affirmed.
The Global Spaceport Alliance (GSA) welcomed the announcement, recognizing Aurora’s potential to revitalize underutilized spaceports. George Nield, GSA chairman, stated that the spaceplane's runway operation and reusability makes space access feasible for spaceports lacking vertical launch infrastructure. “A vehicle like the one Dawn Aerospace has developed changes all of that,” he said. “With a small, reusable system that can operate from a standard runway, there’s no reason why any spaceport with a runway couldn’t provide regular access to space.”