Burns Flat, OK – Oklahoma’s commission responsible for advancing the state’s space industry finalized a deal this week to construct a hangar for a $17 million spaceplane.

The Oklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics Commission approved construction of a $490,000 hangar for the Dawn Aerospace Mark-IIB Aurora spaceplane. The Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority approved a contract last April with the European-based company.

According to The Journal Record, ODAA Executive Director Grayson Ardies said the design phase for the specialized hangar is expected to take six to eight months.

“We’ll start construction next summer, and the hangar and everything is probably a seven- to 10-month build,” Ardies said. “You do the math, and you’re right there, a quarter to 2027 before we have a completed facility.”

Dawn Aerospace is expected to become the first spacecraft to take off from the Burns Flat Air and Space Port and reach suborbital flight. In August, the company announced the successful completion of its first demonstration flight carrying a space domain awareness payload. Working with Scout Space, the firm tested integration of Scout’s “Morning Sparrow” sensor suite aboard the Aurora platform, flying from a conventional runway at Tawhaki National Aerospace Centre in New Zealand.

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