Prototype of reusable suborbital spaceplane from new startup completes five flights
Capitalism in space: Another rocket startup company, Dawn Aerospace, has completed a five flight test program of a prototype of its proposed reusable suborbital spaceplane, dubbed Aurora.
Dawn Aerospace has successfully completed five test flights of its uncrewed Mk-II Aurora suborbital spaceplane in the skies over Glentanner Aerodrome on New Zealand’s South Island. The flights were conducted by the New Zealand-Dutch space transportation company from July 28 to 30, 2021 at altitudes of up to 3,400 feet (1,036 m), with the prototype airframe fitted with surrogate jet engines.
The three-days of test flights to assess the airframe and avionics of the aircraft took place under a certificate issued to Dawn by the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which allowed the Mk-II Aurora to operate from conventional airports without airspace restrictions after ground tests were completed.
The company claims this is a demonstrator for their fullscale two-stage-to orbit version that will take off from a runway and then launch small satellites into orbit.
Looks impressive, but my impression of this prototype is that it is a small scale model, only slightly more sophisticated and larger than a model airplane. That impression is reinforced by the video at the link, which provides no visible markers to judge size.
This company needs to get a lot more done if it wants to compete in this new market.
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Capitalism in space: Another rocket startup company, Dawn Aerospace, has completed a five flight test program of a prototype of its proposed reusable suborbital spaceplane, dubbed Aurora.
Dawn Aerospace has successfully completed five test flights of its uncrewed Mk-II Aurora suborbital spaceplane in the skies over Glentanner Aerodrome on New Zealand’s South Island. The flights were conducted by the New Zealand-Dutch space transportation company from July 28 to 30, 2021 at altitudes of up to 3,400 feet (1,036 m), with the prototype airframe fitted with surrogate jet engines.
The three-days of test flights to assess the airframe and avionics of the aircraft took place under a certificate issued to Dawn by the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which allowed the Mk-II Aurora to operate from conventional airports without airspace restrictions after ground tests were completed.
The company claims this is a demonstrator for their fullscale two-stage-to orbit version that will take off from a runway and then launch small satellites into orbit.
Looks impressive, but my impression of this prototype is that it is a small scale model, only slightly more sophisticated and larger than a model airplane. That impression is reinforced by the video at the link, which provides no visible markers to judge size.
This company needs to get a lot more done if it wants to compete in this new market.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Yes, it is a large R/C controlled model aircraft.
The engines at the back look like standard R/C jet turbines, which are about a foot long. I’ve seen larger and faster models on the various R/C forums I follow.
Winged spaceflight needs a lot of love…
Observations and questions.
“It’s currently equipped with surrogate jet engines, but these will be replaced by a liquid-fuel rocket engine, which is now undergoing static tests.”
OK, investors may invest in whatever stage of development they choose, but I’d be focusing on how that engine is coming along. With a great body and no engine, you got nothin’. With a great engine, the rest of the rocket is still rocket science, but doable; plus, if the rocket as a whole fails, you still have an engine to sell, and that’s a business model. Just look at Blue Origin, eh, maybe.
Another question I’d ask, is this the right engine? After years of following Bob, and also Doug Messier of Parabolic Arc, with their look at Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo, I’d say sometimes the answer is No, despite the years of development.
I’m not saying peroxide + kerosene is bad, just that it is different, and the company needs to prove its point. And the smallsat launcher dynamic may well be different. Fuel/oxidizer combinations may work well in small launchers that do not scale up well or seem needlessly expensive for large vehicles. IMHO, for small vehicles, design complexity and reliability are more important concerns, so the designs will look different, but the small launcher company may still succeed. Look at Rocketlab. Carbon fiber construction is pretty expensive, per kilo, but they’ve still made a go of it. Firefly Alpha is also, if I remember correctly.
Changing tack: so, Dawn Aerospace’s competitor is Virgin Orbit. Launch from where you like, and still get an orbit you can live with. Virgin Orbit, with help and advice from their buddies in the Virgin Group, picks 747 as their “first stage.” They may succeed, as a business. Dawn Aerospace has to design an upper stage, presumably some kind of normal looking rocket, and they have to design their first stage, an entirely new aircraft, capable of, what, Mach 4? Well, that seems a challenge for a young startup. Perhaps I’m missing something. Perhaps the winged vehicle releases a two stage rocket, like the 747, and so doesn’t need to reach high speeds itself.