Dawn Aerospace is based in Christchurch and Delft. On 12 November 2024, its unmanned aircraft, the Mk-II Aurora, hit Mach 1.1 over Glentanner Aerodrome near Mount Cook in the South Island.
That made it the first civil aircraft to fly supersonic since Concorde retired in 2003.
The numbers
- 4.8 metres long
- 75 kilograms empty
- Reached 82,500 feet, more than twice the cruising height of a 747
- Climbed from the ground to 20 kilometres in 118.6 seconds
That climb was 4.2 seconds faster than a modified F-15 fighter jet, which had held the record since the 1970s.
The goal
Mach 3.5 and 100 kilometres of altitude, the edge of space. Twice a day. From a runway in New Zealand.
My read
The world waited 21 years for someone to fly that fast again, and it was Kiwis. Reusable aircraft that reach space from a normal runway would change the cost of getting things up there.