First rocket-powered test flights for NZ's Dawn Aerospace

An onboard camera captures Dawn Aerospace's rocket-powered space plane over Canterbury. (Image: Dawn Aerospace)

Thu, 06 Apr 2023

Dawn Aerospace has successfully run its first tests of rocket-powered engines with its winged space plane in Canterbury.The Christchurch-based company conducted three test flights in late March from the Glentanner Aerodrome on the shore of Lake Pukaki.Its remotely-piloted Mark-II Aurora sub-orbital vehicle had previously been tested with jet engines.The company, which has operations in New Zealand, the Netherlands and the United States, raised $20 million in venture capital in 2022.Suborbital flightsDawn Aerospace's chief executive, Stefan...

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