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Dawn Aerospace develops non-toxic green propulsion thrusters for satellites and is separately building the Mk-II Aurora, a reusable suborbital spaceplane, from New Zealand.
ACTIVEDawn Aerospace develops green propulsion systems for satellites and is building a suborbital spaceplane for rapid, reusable access to space. The company offers non-toxic thruster products for CubeSats through large satellites alongside its Mk-II Aurora vehicle program.
Founded in 2017 with operations in New Zealand and the Netherlands, Dawn Aerospace is pursuing a dual strategy in NewSpace. The propulsion division offers green (non-toxic) monopropellant and bipropellant thrusters as drop-in replacements for legacy hydrazine systems, serving the growing demand for safer satellite propulsion. The vehicle division is developing the Mk-II Aurora, a reusable rocket-powered suborbital spaceplane designed to fly multiple times per day from conventional runways. This two-stage-to-orbit concept aims to dramatically reduce launch costs by enabling aircraft-like operations. Dawn has completed multiple test flights of the Mk-II from New Zealand.
Rank 60 of 93 ranked companies. With the pillars we have not measured for this company filled at the 10th and 90th percentiles of the companies we did measure, and every other company held at its published total, the rank is likely between 47 and 68.
3 of 5 inputs measured · Medium confidence · 75% of applicable weight backed by data
Not measured: Reported revenue
Not measured: Open-role change (90 days)
A pillar score averages the company’s percentiles among the tracked companies with a value: relative standing, not a grade. Inputs measured 2026-10-15 (UTC) · methodology v6. Every input, its value and percentile · How it is computed
The Space Score ranks companies relative to each other on public data we hold. It describes; it does not rate, forecast or recommend. It is not a credit rating and not investment advice. Full disclaimer
Sources: Founded, Headquarters, CEO, Employees, Legal name
For information only, not investment advice. SpaceNexus is not a registered investment adviser, broker or dealer, and nothing here is a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security. Data may be delayed, estimated or incomplete; check the source before acting. Full disclaimer
1 private round on record. Debt, grants, state capital, owner funding and acquisitions are listed under Funding history by class and not added in.
Non-toxic bipropellant thruster for satellites, providing high performance with safe handling for orbit raising and de-orbit maneuvers.
Higher-thrust green bipropellant engine for medium satellites and orbit transfer applications.
Reusable rocket-powered spaceplane designed to fly to 100 km twice in a single day; reached Mach 1.1 and 82,500 ft on 12 November 2024.
Checking for a discussion…
Compiled Oct 15, 2026 from 2 public records. Every figure links the record it comes from.
Latest sourced round
Series B: $25.0M
Led by Balerion Space Ventures
Source: Payload Space
Announced Jun 16, 2026
Open roles
22 open roles
90 days ago: before our daily count began (Aug 13, 2026)
Roles on the company's own jobs board, read by our daily sync. Listings posted or paid for on SpaceNexus are not counted. Earlier daily counts include every listed role.
Source: Company jobs board (Greenhouse)
Counted Oct 14, 2026
Led Series B (Jun 16, 2026)
Payload Space, Jun 16, 2026
APA
SpaceNexus. (2026, October 15). Dawn Aerospace: Company dossier [Data set]. Retrieved October 15, 2026, from https://spacenexus.us/company-profiles/dawn-aerospace
Chicago
SpaceNexus. "Dawn Aerospace: Company dossier." Data as of October 15, 2026. Accessed October 15, 2026. https://spacenexus.us/company-profiles/dawn-aerospace.
BibTeX
@misc{spacenexus_dawnaerospace_2026,
author = {{SpaceNexus}},
title = {{Dawn Aerospace}: Company dossier},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
howpublished = {\url{https://spacenexus.us/company-profiles/dawn-aerospace}},
url = {https://spacenexus.us/company-profiles/dawn-aerospace},
urldate = {2026-10-15},
note = {Data as of 2026-10-15; each fact links its primary source}
}