Dawn Aerospace’s prototype aircraft has completed the first civilian supersonic flight since the Concorde during testing in New Zealand.

The rebirth of commercial supersonic flight has kind of, sort of come to pass as Dawn Aerospace announces that its 16-ft (4.8-m) Mk-II Aurora rocket-powered aircraft broke the sound barrier with a speed of Mach 1.

Dawn Aerospace has flown its rocket-powered aircraft past the speed of sound as it prepares for its first commercial flight next year.

Dawn Aerospace's rocket-powered Mk-11 Aurora completed its first supersonic flight, reaching Mach 1.1 and 82,500 feet. The aircraft, designed to launch satellites, marks the first supersonic civil flight since Concorde.