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Australian aerospace firm Hypersonix Launch Systems is entering the final countdown to the maiden mission of its scramjet-powered hypersonic aircraft, marking a major milestone for the nation’s advanced aerospace sector.
The Brisbane-based company has developed a new class of autonomous aircraft designed to sustain flight at hypersonic speeds, defined as faster than Mach 5 or more than five times the speed of sound. Its proprietary Spartan scramjet engine, manufactured entirely using 3D printing and containing no moving parts, is designed to propel aircraft to speeds of up to Mach 12.
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The mission will see Hypersonix’s 3.5-metre DART AE hypersonic vehicle carried into the upper atmosphere aboard a HASTE rocket operated by Rocket Lab.
The rocket is purpose-built for hypersonic test missions. Once the aircraft reaches its deployment point, it will separate from the launch vehicle and ignite its scramjet engine, accelerating into sustained hypersonic flight.
The launch is scheduled to take place from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 at the Virginia Spaceport Authority’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, located within NASA Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia. The launch window opens at 4pm US Eastern Time on Wednesday, 25 February, corresponding to 7am AEDT on Thursday, 26 February.
The mission, known as Cassowary Vex by the Defense Innovation Unit and “That’s not a knife” by Rocket Lab, is being conducted on behalf of the United States’ defence innovation authorities.
The underlying propulsion technology was developed by Dr Michael Smart, Hypersonix co-founder, former chair of Hypersonic Propulsion at the University of Queensland and a former research scientist with NASA.
Smart said the upcoming flight represented a critical step beyond laboratory and ground-based testing.
“This mission takes our propulsion, materials and control systems into the real hypersonic environment,” he said.
“At these speeds and temperatures, there is no substitute for flight data. What we learn from this mission will directly inform the next generation of reusable hypersonic aircraft.”
Hypersonix chief executive Matt Hill described the mission as a defining moment for both the company and Australia’s sovereign aerospace capability.
“Flying DART AE is a major moment for our team,” Hill said.
“It reflects years of focused engineering and confirms that an Australian company can design and build technology capable of operating in one of the most demanding flight regimes on Earth.”
The mission follows Hypersonix’s recent $46 million Series A capital raise, backed by the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation and Queensland Investment Corporation.
The funding round was led by UK-based investor High Tor Capital, with support from European defence company Saab and Polish investment firm RKKVC.
The investment is accelerating Hypersonix’s flight test program, expanding advanced manufacturing capacity in Queensland, and fast-tracking development of its next reusable hypersonic platform, known as VISR, short for Velos Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance.
Hypersonix currently employs more than 50 staff in Brisbane across aerospace engineering, advanced manufacturing and flight testing, positioning the company at the forefront of Australia’s emerging hypersonic industry.
