California Polytechnic State takes first U.S. research payload leap on Dawn Aerospace Aurora

Source | Dawn Aerospace

Dawn Aerospace (ChristChurch, New Zealand) successfully flew its Aurora spaceplace carrying California Polytechnic State University’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. 

“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.