BURNS FLAT, Okla., — Oklahoma has begun construction of a $7.5 million facility at Infinity One Oklahoma Spaceport to support operations of Dawn Aerospace’s reusable, rocket-powered Aurora spaceplane. State officials and company representatives broke ground on the project on October 13, 2026, with completion expected in fall 2027 and flight operations targeted to begin in 2027.
Facility Details
Funded through an appropriation from the Oklahoma Legislature, the 15,000-square-foot complex will include:
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5,000-square-foot mission control and operations building for flight management and operational support.
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10,000-square-foot aircraft hangar for aircraft preparation and maintenance.
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Dedicated workspaces for avionics, payload integration and flight simulation, along with conference rooms and other operational facilities.
The infrastructure is designed to support pre-flight and post-flight procedures and enable regular spaceplane operations.
Aurora Spaceplane Capabilities
Unlike conventional rockets that require dedicated launch infrastructure, the Aurora is designed to take off and land on conventional runways. Dawn Aerospace is developing the vehicle for suborbital research, technology testing and high-altitude applications.
The spaceplane is designed to reach speeds of up to Mach 3.7 and altitudes of approximately 100 kilometers (62 miles), providing around 120–127 seconds of microgravity per flight. The company is targeting a turnaround time of approximately four hours between flights.
Dawn Aerospace has completed 64 Aurora test flights. During testing in 2024, the vehicle broke the sound barrier and recorded a climb time of 118.6 seconds to reach 20 kilometers (approximately 66,000 feet) from a runway. Manufacturing and earlier flight testing have been based in Christchurch, New Zealand.
$17 Million Agreement Supports the Programme
The project builds on an agreement announced in June 2025 between Dawn Aerospace and the Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority (OSIDA), valued at approximately $17 million.
The agreement covers the supply of an Aurora spaceplane, ground-support equipment, training, licensing support and related services. Dawn Aerospace will provide the aircraft, a ground control station and an operations team.
Astral Materials Books Up to 100 Flights
California-based Astral Materials has booked up to 100 Aurora flights beginning in 2028 from Infinity One Oklahoma Spaceport.
The company plans to use the flights to research advanced materials and semiconductor manufacturing hardware. The spaceplane's rapid turnaround is expected to allow researchers to conduct repeated experiments, test equipment and refine designs over shorter periods.
Oklahoma's Commercial Spaceflight Plans
Located in Burns Flat in western Oklahoma, Infinity One Oklahoma Spaceport occupies a former Air Force base with a long concrete runway and an FAA-approved flight corridor for space operations.
Grayson Ardies, CEO of OSIDA and executive director of the Oklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics, described the groundbreaking as a practical step towards developing commercial spaceflight using runway-based operations rather than traditional vertical rocket launches.
The new facility is intended to support more frequent experimental flights while strengthening Oklahoma's aerospace industry by combining existing aviation infrastructure with dedicated facilities for commercial spaceflight and research.
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