Dawn Aerospace
Series ARaised Since FeaturedFrom Earth to orbit
Reusable spaceplanes and green satellite propulsion for daily access to space.
About
Dawn Aerospace is a space transportation company building reusable rocket-powered aircraft and green propulsion systems for satellites. Their flagship Mk-II Aurora spaceplane broke the sound barrier in November 2024 — the first civil aircraft to fly supersonic since Concorde — and is now taking commercial orders for 2027 delivery at an estimated $100,000 per flight. The company also manufactures non-toxic satellite propulsion systems (SatDrive and CubeDrive) currently deployed on 26 operational satellites. Co-founded in 2017 by five aerospace engineers across New Zealand and the Netherlands, Dawn operates from dual headquarters in Delft and Christchurch with a team of 66 spanning 30+ nationalities. Their ultimate vision is an orbital-stage aircraft (Mk-III) capable of launching satellites to LEO, competing with traditional rockets at a fraction of the cost.
DailyDropout Take
Dawn Aerospace caught our eye as a scrappy deep-tech company punching far above its weight — breaking the sound barrier with a civil aircraft for the first time since Concorde on a budget most aerospace startups would spend on office furniture. Their dual revenue model of selling satellite propulsion today while building tomorrow’s spaceplane is a smart way to bootstrap a moonshot without burning through billions.
Discovery signal: Historic supersonic milestone (first since Concorde), commercial spaceplane orders opening, dual-HQ model with lean capital efficiency, green propulsion tech on 26 operational satellites.
What Makes Them Unique
Dawn Aerospace is the only company flying a reusable rocket-powered aircraft from conventional airport runways, combining aviation-style operations with rocket performance. Their dual business model — selling satellite propulsion hardware today while developing the spaceplane for tomorrow — generates revenue while funding their moonshot.
26 operational
Satellites Using Propulsion
Mach 1.12
Aurora Top Speed
82,500 ft
Aurora Max Altitude
~66
Team Size
$100,000
Estimated Per-Flight Cost
Target Markets
Founders
Stefan Powell
Co-Founder, CEO & CTO
New Zealand/Netherlands dual citizen. Co-founded Dawn Aerospace in 2017 to build reusable spaceplanes and green propulsion systems.
Tobias Knop
Co-Founder & COO
German aerospace engineer overseeing operations across Dawn’s four global offices.
James Powell
Co-Founder & CFO
New Zealand/Netherlands dual citizen managing Dawn’s financial strategy and fundraising.
Jeroen Wink
Co-Founder & CRO
Dutch co-founder leading commercial revenue and partnerships.
Robert Werner
Co-Founder
German co-founder contributing to Dawn’s engineering and technical development.
Dawn Aerospace is hiring!
Team size: ~66
Funding History
Lead: Undisclosed
Lead: Icehouse Ventures
Investors
Firms
Individual Investors
Accelerators
Gallery
Press & News
Dawn Aerospace’s rocket-propelled aircraft takes flight
Dawn Aerospace conducts five flights of its suborbital spaceplane
Civil Aircraft Breaks Sound Barrier for First Time Since Concorde
Dawn Aerospace begins sales of Aurora suborbital spaceplane
Dawn Aerospace secures flight collaboration with U.S. universities for suborbital research