On November 19th, Dawn Aerospace confirmed that it ended the more than 20-year pause on civilian supersonic flight. According to its Tuesday announcement, the company based in New Zealand and the Netherlands successfully launched and landed its rocket-powered MK-II Aurora on November 12th from Glentanner Aerodrome near Aoraki Mount Cook. The prototype reportedly set a world record in the process, marking the fastest aircraft to ascend from ground level to 66,000 ft in 118.6 seconds—surpassing a milestone by 4.2 secons set in the 1970s by souped-up F-15 “Streak Eagle” The MK-11 Aurora also reached an apex altitude of 82,500 ft, over twice as high as flying commercial passenger planes, at a speed of roughly Mach 1.1.
“With flight test 57, we retired the final major technical risk in the Aurora program: vehicle dynamics through the transonic regime,” Dawn Aerospace CEO Stefan Powell said, who added that plans to begin commercial payload operations will begin “in the coming months” under the brand, Dawn Hypersonics.
The view from Aurora MK-II’s rear engine camera during its ascent. Credit: Dawn Aerospace
An engine camera captures Earth’s curvature during the Aurora MK-II flight. Credit: Dawn Aerospace
Unlike the last commercial supersonic jet, the Concorde, Aurora planes aren’t currently designed to ferry intercontinental passengers. Instead, Dawn Aerospace wants their 13-feet-wide, 16-feet-long vehicles to function as cheaper, simpler, and more eco-friendly delivery system options compared to SpaceX and Blue Origin. Like those companies, Aurora aircraft will primarily focus on transport satellites and other scientific payloads ranging from about 66-to-1,102 lbs into orbit above Earth. Thanks to their rapid flight times and reusability, however, Dawn Aerospace intends their planes to fly twice a day with minimal turnaround time.
Aurora uses a non-toxic propulsion combination of nitrous oxide and propylene stored as liquid gasses under vapor pressure. During takeoff and flight, the aircraft’s rocket thrust-to-weight ratio is reportedly 20 times higher than conventional jetplane engines and capable of operating beyond Earth’s atmosphere. Dawn Aerospace also plans to launch and land their vehicles using standard runways around the world. Dawn Aerospace wants its Aurora MK-II to usher in a new age of rocket-powered planes.
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The Aurora MK-II isn’t the final version of Dawn Aerospace’s reusable, rocket-powered planes. Once all testing is complete during this phase, the company plans to build an MK-III that will ultimately reach Mach 3.5 during its ascent and re-entry twice a day. In addition to satellite payloads, the company hopes its aircraft will deploy for atmospheric sampling, remote sensing, and even some emergency response scenarios.
Such speeds and flight frequencies, however, will likely be noisy events. One of the chief complaints about planes such as the Concorde was the racket generated by their 105 decibel sonic booms—and that was at about Mach 2.2, not MK-III’s Mach 3.5 goal. Multiple companies and agencies such as Lockheed Martin and NASA have spent years designing and testing “quieter” designs such as the X-59. It’s unclear just how loud Dawn Aerospace’s reusable Aurora planes will be, but their sound levels will likely be a factor in how often, and where, they conduct their future flights.
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