����

 (ChristChurch, New Zealand) successfully flew its Aurora spaceplace carrying ’s (Cal Poly) student-built payload, reaching Mach 0.79 and an altitude of 37,000 feet. 

This June 24^th flight — Aurora’s first from Dawn’s newly operational launch facility at Tāwhaki National Aerospace Centre — carried Cal Poly’s payload, making it the first U.S. student-built experiment to fly aboard Aurora and marking a major milestone for university-led research in reusable spaceplane development. 

Featured Content

Post Cure: Bolt-assembly GFRP industrial tank simplifies assembly, airtight anaerobic treatment READ MORE

Market report: Composites and carbon fiber in hydrogen storage READ MORE

Troubleshooting thermoplastic composite stamp forming READ MORE

“This mission is putting student-built hardware on the frontlines of aerospace innovation,” says Dr. Kurt Colvin, Cal Poly professor and payload advisor. “Working with a next-gen spaceplane like Aurora gave our team firsthand experience integrating a payload for a reusable commercial spaceplane — a paradigm shift from traditional expendable rocket launches.”

Cal Poly’s payload was designed to test whether student-built hardware could withstand the rigors of  high-altitude, spaceflight-like environments. Using a modified data system from Bolder Flight Systems (Minneapolis, Minn., U.S.), the mission focused on proving that the team could build and operate a payload ready to integrate with a commercial spaceplane. Just as importantly, it served as a training mission — giving students hands-on experience and laying the groundwork for future Cal Poly launches from the upcoming Paso Robles, California Spaceport.

Aurora’s horizontal launch architecture — taking off and landing like a conventional aircraft — offers benefits for academic institutions include rapid, reusable operations; reduced infrastructure costs; and expanded university access through commercial partnership.

This mission builds on Dawn’s recently announced partnership with the State of Oklahoma and the Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics (formerly Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority), to bring the Aurora spaceplane to the Oklahoma Air & Space Port in Burns Flat — operations set to begin with first flights in 2027. This collaboration underscores a leap forward in scaling reusable suborbital spaceflight across the U.S. with operations at the Oklahoma Air & Space Port set to extend Aurora’s flight profile to 100 kilometers. By teaming with Cal Poly, Dawn says it is demonstrating how academic institutions can help lead this transformation while highlighting the opportunity for U.S. research units to leverage Oklahoma’s forward‑looking spaceport as a national hub for innovation and direct access to space.

“Aurora is the perfect tool for students to not only learn the theories of aerospace, but also design, build, qualify and operate in the real world,” says James Powell, spaceplane chief engineer and co-founder. “Because we recover the payload, customers gain deeper insight into performance and can more easily modify and upgrade for future flights.”