Evolution Space, a Mojave, Calif.-based startup, announced the successful flight of a small-scale test rocket from an offshore platform operated by The Spaceport Company on Sept. 3. The launch took place over the Gulf of Mexico on Aug. 31.

Designed as a suborbital hypersonic rocket, the solid-engine test vehicle reached an altitude of 55,500 feet. A small-scale test flight uses a smaller, scaled-down version of the final rocket design to gather data and test design concepts before full-scale development.

The Spaceport’s offshore launch vehicle was funded by a $2.5 million contract from the Defense Innovation Unit, a Department of Defense agency that works to accelerate the adoption of commercial technologies for national security purposes.

Evolution Space has signed a deal to produce solid-state rocket engines at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. The company recently won a U.S. Air Force research contract to develop solid-state engine-powered hypersonic vehicles.

This test marks the second collaboration between Evolution Space and The Spaceport Company. Last year, the two companies launched four probes with Evolution Space providing the propulsion systems.

“We have a shared mission with Spaceport Company to deliver new solutions to the Department of Defense’s infrastructure challenges,” said Matthew Merighi, chief strategy officer of Evolution Space.

The experiment took place about 30 miles south of the Mississippi in the Gulf of Mexico. The tests served to validate the Spaceport Company’s sea launch equipment and ground support equipment, according to CEO and company founder Tom Marott.

“New hypersonic technologies require additional and wider test windows to conduct test campaigns at higher rotation speeds,” he said. “With this new commercial facility, we will reduce the burden on government test sites and provide testing capabilities at sea that current land-based test sites cannot provide.”

The company’s sea launcher can support rockets weighing up to 1,000 pounds, which is how much weight the climb to altitude above the Carman line can handle, Marotta said.