Dawn Aerospace helps polytech join the space race

Banks Peninsula as seen from Dawn Aerospace's Aurora space plane. (Image: Dawn Aerospace)

Thu, 11 Sep 2025

Dawn Aerospace’s commercial ambitions are gaining traction with recent flights carrying payloads from New Zealand to California Polytechnic and Scout Space.The company is also planning to operate its next-generation space plane, currently in development, from Oklahoma starting in 2027.Flights are now being operated from the Tāwhaki National Aerospace Centre south of Banks Peninsula. Earlier test flights have been carried out near the base of Mt Cook.The flight for California Polytechnic (Cal Poly) launched on June 24 to test whe...

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