Dawn Aerospace small-scale rocket-powered airplane breaks the sound barrier
The crew and Mk-II Aurora
On November 12, 2024, the startup Dawn Aerospace for the first time flew its small-scale rocket-powered Mk-II Aurora unmanned airplane at speeds exceeding the speed of sound, becoming the first commercial airplane since the Concorde to break the sound barrier.
The company, operating as Dawn Hypersonics, achieved the milestone on 12 November 2024, with the Aurora surpassing the speed of sound for the first time, reaching Mach 1.1 and climbing to an altitude of 82,500 feet. This is over twice as high as commercial aircraft and marks the first time a civil aircraft has flown supersonic since Concorde. This achievement signifies a major step toward operational hypersonic travel and daily space access, establishing rocket-powered aircraft as a new class of ultra-high-performance vehicles.
The flight, conducted from New Zealand’s Glentanner Aerodrome near the base of Aoraki Mt Cook, exceeded its test target speeds and altitude of Mach 1.05 and 75,000 feet. The Aurora also set a global record, becoming the fastest aircraft to climb from ground level to 20 km (66,000 feet), completing the ascent in just 118.6 seconds. This beats the previous record, held by a highly modified F-15 ‘Streak Eagle’ in the 1970s, by 4.2 seconds.
It appears the company’s goals have changed and become less ambitious, at least for the moment. According to the company’s press materials now, the goal now is to sell Mk-II (and bigger versions) for suborbital hypersonic research, both for the military and private sector. Back in 2021 however the company described Mk-II as merely a preliminary test vehicle leading to the construction of a larger fullscale two-stage-to-orbit version that would take off and land on a runway and could be used to launch satellites to orbit.
In a sense, nothing might have really changed, other than the company realizing that it should try to make money on the Mk-II now, even as it flies and tests it in preparation for eventually building the larger orbital version. If Dawn begins to win contracts using this prototype, it will then have the resources (as well as the ability to raise more investment capital) to advance to larger more powerful version.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
The crew and Mk-II Aurora
On November 12, 2024, the startup Dawn Aerospace for the first time flew its small-scale rocket-powered Mk-II Aurora unmanned airplane at speeds exceeding the speed of sound, becoming the first commercial airplane since the Concorde to break the sound barrier.
The company, operating as Dawn Hypersonics, achieved the milestone on 12 November 2024, with the Aurora surpassing the speed of sound for the first time, reaching Mach 1.1 and climbing to an altitude of 82,500 feet. This is over twice as high as commercial aircraft and marks the first time a civil aircraft has flown supersonic since Concorde. This achievement signifies a major step toward operational hypersonic travel and daily space access, establishing rocket-powered aircraft as a new class of ultra-high-performance vehicles.
The flight, conducted from New Zealand’s Glentanner Aerodrome near the base of Aoraki Mt Cook, exceeded its test target speeds and altitude of Mach 1.05 and 75,000 feet. The Aurora also set a global record, becoming the fastest aircraft to climb from ground level to 20 km (66,000 feet), completing the ascent in just 118.6 seconds. This beats the previous record, held by a highly modified F-15 ‘Streak Eagle’ in the 1970s, by 4.2 seconds.
It appears the company’s goals have changed and become less ambitious, at least for the moment. According to the company’s press materials now, the goal now is to sell Mk-II (and bigger versions) for suborbital hypersonic research, both for the military and private sector. Back in 2021 however the company described Mk-II as merely a preliminary test vehicle leading to the construction of a larger fullscale two-stage-to-orbit version that would take off and land on a runway and could be used to launch satellites to orbit.
In a sense, nothing might have really changed, other than the company realizing that it should try to make money on the Mk-II now, even as it flies and tests it in preparation for eventually building the larger orbital version. If Dawn begins to win contracts using this prototype, it will then have the resources (as well as the ability to raise more investment capital) to advance to larger more powerful version.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Has any R/C size plane ever broken the sound barrier?
Modified it has a good chance of being a marketable hyper-sonic missile.
Launch it off a rail.
Remove the wings and give it three tail fins.
It might need a solid fuel booster fir this.
Remove any landing gear.
Would it even need explosives?
Talos didn’t–it almost blew the ship Oklahoma City dead in two.
Talos was a fearsome thing.
Minor edit in first paragraph after quote: ” two-stage-to-orbit version”
Andi: Fixed. Thank you.
“Talos was a fearsome thing.”
“On May 23, 1968, a Talos fired from Long Beach shot down a Vietnamese MiG at a range of about 65 miles. This was the first downing of a hostile aircraft by a missile fired from a ship. The hit also destroyed a second MiG which flew through the debris. In September 1968, Long Beach scored another MiG destroyed at a range of 61 miles.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RIM-8_Talos
Good for Dawn- this is very much like what we were trying to do at XCOR Aerospace, I’m glad to see them reaching their goals.
I was thinking of a simple ground attack missile not air interceptor.
One of those simple hyper sonic missiles that will speed past enemy defenses.
At 1500 to 2000 MPH would it need more than a 10 pound steel penetrator to pass through an armored ship or deep into a tunnel system?
Doug Jones,
I was sorry at the demise of XCOR, and I hope you and everyone else there are now doing well at other companies that are also bringing the benefits of space closer to the rest of us.