Rocket Lab announced the agreement for a series of missions using its HASTE (Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron) vehicle, marking the largest single launch contract in the company’s history. HASTE was earlier this month used to launch a successful test flight of the Hypersonix DART AE aircraft.

Speaking at a tourism forum in Melbourne, Qantas International CEO Cam Wallace said that direct Project Sunrise flights to New York and London will allow the Flying Kangaroo to turn Australia’s geographical isolation into an advantage, but will not replace its other hub-based services.

In its report into the incident on 28 August 2025, the safety watchdog noted that the PA-28, VH-TKX, had neither a functioning radio nor a transponder due to a broken alternator, and was communicating with other pilots in the race via a group chat on the way to Tindal.

The experiment, known as the Dawn Aerospace Radar Tracking Experiment (DARTE), saw Dawn Aerospace operate its suborbital spaceplane Aurora from the Tāwhaki National Aerospace Centre, south of Christchurch. At sea, the Royal New Zealand Navy frigate HMNZS Te Kaha tracked the vehicle using its onboard surveillance radar systems.