Remote Controlled Space Vehicles Right Here in NZ!
Space Vehicles operating from current civilian airports seems a little out there and futuristic, but it is already happening here in New Zealand. I met Tim Dutton from Dawn Aerospace not so long ago and he agreed to be interviewed for our blog.
Tim Dutton, Dawn Aerospace
Hi Tim, Thanks for taking the time to have a chat with us. I was fortunate enough to attend one of your presentations and was in awe at what Dawn Aerospace is achieving here in New Zealand. The video of a flight of your Mk11 Aurora aircraft at Glentanner was quite impressive.
Q. As an introduction to this interview, could you please tell us a little about yourself and Dawn Aerospace?
A. Sure, I’m Operations Team Leader at Dawn Aerospace. Dawn Aerospace is a Christchurch based company, developing technology and procedures for same-day reusable launch vehicles and non-toxic satellite propulsion systems.
My role is purely on the vehicles side of the business. I get the pleasure of leading the team that operates our aircraft. My team is responsible for ensuring we collect all the data needed to develop and demonstrate the technology.
Our current aircraft that we call the Mk-II Aurora is a delta-wing aircraft which is 4.8m long and has a wing span of 2.4m. Clearly at that scale, it is remotely piloted! The aircraft is intended to go to space twice in a day. We have performed 48 flights so far using small turbine engines, but are now in a phase of removing the turbine engines and adding a rocket engine to the aircraft.
I have been super lucky in my career to be involved in testing a wide range of aircraft, from large military transport, helicopters and fast jets, to novel vertical take-off and landing aircraft. Rocket power will be a first for me, I am really looking forward to see the aircraft fly under rocket power!
Q. The idea of commercial remote controlled aircraft, either going to space or staying within our lower atmosphere is really still on the periphery of the public’s mind when they think of aviation. How common do you think these will become in the next 25 years?
A. I’m certain it will become far more common than it is now. There are a huge number of organisations developing the technology in the world as we speak. The uses of the aircraft are really varied; take for example package delivery and aerial survey and photography which are happening more regularly now. In the future I think remote controlled aircraft will be bigger, more capable and widespread. There are a number of challenges with widespread use, but there are some really smart people out there solving them.
Q. I really like the idea of eventually grabbing space rubbish and bringing it back to earth for recycling – it almost sounds like something out of Thunderbirds! Do you expect there will be a good appetite for those responsible for leaving the rubbish up there to fund this project to bring it all back?
A. Space debris is definitely becoming a problem. The European Space Agency estimates that there are over a million objects in orbit bigger than 1cm and there are about 8850 satellites in space at the moment. While most countries have no formal rules (yet), to be a good space-citizen organisations now aim to ensure their satellites burn up in the atmospheres or otherwise are removed from orbit 25 years after the end of their life. There are a number of projects looking at how to remove space debris. Dawn’s satellites help our customers deorbit at the end of their useful life.
Q. As I see it, what you are creating is a power of good for the earth and for space if used in a civilian sphere only. I would hate to see this technology used for any form of political space shenanigans – such as disabling or altering competing countries satellites. Do you worry that the military of any number of countries would pay too much attention to what you are doing and try to bend it to their will?
A: Militarisation is a complex issue for our industry. Beyond space-based warfare which you highlight, there is the challenge that services like internet and Earth imagery are relied on by militaries (the internet and GPS both have their origins in defence), but these services have also become essential in daily life on Earth. Everything from tracking aircraft, to Google Maps, to credit card payments to dating apps are supported by satellite infrastructure. Remote internet, for example, is used by soldiers but also offers huge potential for developing nations to access a wealth of information.
Dawn was founded out of a desire to make space technology sustainable, and to make it affordable to commercial business. We require our customers to disclose what their intended application is. From there, we make an assessment that it is aligned with company values (beyond New Zealand’s international obligations, which are rigorous). We have hardware on eight orbiting satellites – none of them military.
Satellites do the world a huge amount of good. One of our favourite contracts right is working with the Indonesian space agency on their early warning system for tsunamis. Those are the kind of projects that motivate us.
MKll Aurora departing Mt Cook Airport
Q. There appears to be the technology around now to have remote controlled or pilotless air taxis moving people around cities and regions but nothing yet in actual commercial operation, that I’m aware of. How long do you think it will be before this is a common place thing? Do you think it will be easy to convince the public that getting airborne without a pilot is a good thing?
A. I think there will be pockets of this type of service in the next 5-10 years’ time, however I think they will be quite restricted and only be used particular routes or areas. I think this will help build what is known as the social licence for such operations.
Once proven, I think it will be adopted reasonably widely, but that might take more time.
Q. As this technology advances, do you think it would become common place in the commercial aviation industry – such as air freighters being pilotless, even airliners?
A. I think aircraft will become more and more automated and won’t necessarily have a pilot onboard. I’m not sure pilotless is the correct word as I think there is likely to be someone with responsibility for the flight. They won’t necessarily fly the aircraft with stick/yoke, pedals etc, but they will become a system manager of sorts, that role might be known as a pilot, I’m not sure. They will monitor the aircraft to ensure its behaving as expected and will step in if it isn’t. This opens up the potential for a pilot to control/monitor multiple aircraft. That might seem a big step, however it is already happening with small, uncrewed delivery vehicles!
Q. What are the long term goals of Dawn Aerospace?
A. We are making space transportation more sustainable and in doing so make it more affordable too. We are aiming to conduct two flights to space in a single day. This is quite an undertaking, but we plan reusing the aircraft and just refuelling it between flights. At Dawn we are confident lowering the cost of getting to space will generate lots of opportunities for things to be done in a different way. We don’t know what those things are yet, but they will all need to get to space, move around in space and likely need to return too. We are aiming to address that need.
Q. Do you need to be a qualified pilot to remotely control your aircraft? Particularly if they will be using commercial airports to operate?
A. Yes, but not necessarily in the typical sense. The requirements around the qualification of pilots for remote aircraft are evolving. At the moment, our pilot is required to have completed a Part 102 pilot course. This is quite generic and is aimed at commercial drone operators. In addition to this, we conduct a significant amount of simulator training with our whole flight test team. Operating our experimental aircraft requires a team to fly the aircraft, keep an eye on its systems and ensure that we integrate well with other users. Flight testing is definitely a team sport.
As our system develops and we fly in more complex airspace our team will need to ensure we continue to integrate with other airspace users. Exactly what that looks like is under discussion, but it’s likely to be based on the manned aviation system, hence having a background in manned aviation is definitely going to help, but it doesn’t close the door on people who have only flown remotely.
Q. In your view, do you feel this technology is a game changer for the commercial people carrying aviation sector? Do you feel there would be an impact on pilot numbers in the long term?
A. I think it could be, but it will be driven by economics. The balance of fuel, buying/leasing aircraft, staff wages etc. will determine how fast the industry will progress. If wages are a significant portion of the operating cost, aircraft manufacturers are likely to help airlines lower that cost. In my opinion, if the technology develops in that direction, it’s going to take a while to get there. In the meantime, I think more people will want to travel and the global aircraft fleet will grow. I think that is likely to offset any reduction in pilot numbers.
Well Tim, thank you very much for your time answering our questions. Your support for our website is appreciated. Cheers!
If you’d like to know more or take a look at the Mk11- Aurora in action, head over to here - https://www.dawnaerospace.com/spacelaunch