DAWN AEROSPACE, New Zealand completed supersonic (Mach 1.1) flight of Aurora rocket-powered aircraft, designed to fly to edge of space (100 km altitude) twice in a single day, reaching speeds of Mach 3.5 during ascent and re-entry.
NASA issued contracts totaling $11.5m (under Phase 1 of Advanced Aircraft Concepts for Environmental Sustainability (AACES) 2050 project) to Aurora Flight Sciences (Boeing), Electra.aero, JetZero, Pratt & Whitney and Georgia Tech to study and define sustainable concepts and technologies for new commercial aircraft that could enter service by 2050.
