Source: Radio New Zealand
AFP PHOTO /ROCKET LAB/KIERNAN FANNING AND SIMON MOFFATT
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New Zealand is number three in the world for rocket launching – posing some tricky questions.
It is a stat that tends to catch people off guard. When it comes to the number of orbital rocket launches, New Zealand sits behind two super-powers.
“There’s the US and China, and New Zealand. As far as the number of launches departing our shores,” says Mark Rocket, chief executive of Kea Aerospace – and yes, he changed his name to match his passion.
Dr. Philipp Sueltrop (Chief Technology Officer) Mark Rocket (CEO Kea Aerospace) Megan Woods, Lianne Dalziel RNZ / Nate McKinnon
With Rocket Lab clocking up launch after launch from the Mahia Peninsula – the 71st blasted off on 27 January – this country has quietly become a serious player in what is being called the third space age.
The space ages
The first age gave us the Apollo moon landing. The second brought the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station. Now, plummeting costs and a convergence of new materials and computing power have opened the door to a wave of commercial operators.
Mark puts it simply: internet entrepreneurs who made their money in tech decided to chase their space dreams. Elon Musk with Space X, Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin.
AFP
Tech bros turning into space bros, bankrolling the so-called “Democratisation of Space”- putting hundreds of rockets, satellites and celebrities into orbit,
Who can forget Katy Perry stepping out of a Blue Origin capsule after her return to earth, kissing the ground and feeling “super connected to love”?
The democratisation of space
But is “democratisation” really the right word? Dr Priyanka Dhopade, a senior lecturer in mechanical and mechatronics engineering at the University of Auckland, isn’t so sure.
She points out that while there are roughly 12,000 operational satellites in low Earth orbit, about two-thirds are controlled by Starlink and Elon Musk.
“Even though there are a lot more people involved, more companies, more governments, the power to access space and provide critical services like internet is actually more concentrated than we think,” she says.
Dr Priyanka Dhopade, research lead of the Sustainable Space Initiative, University of Auckland Supplied
The better term, Priyanka reckons, might be the commoditisation or transactionalisation of space – “but it’s not as catchy.”
The murky world of space politics
Whatever you call it, the boom has brought complications. Chief among them is the thorny question of dual-use technology – where the same satellite that monitors wildfires one day might track people for security purposes the next.
“What is and isn’t dual use technology is becoming increasingly murky,” Priyanka warns. “Our critical space services, you know, things like crop monitoring, disaster response, GPS, are increasingly entwined with issues of national security.”
That tension was on full display when protesters chained themselves to doors at last year’s Aerospace Summit in Christchurch, with 30 arrested. Peace Action Ōtautahi said they were protesting the industry’s ties with overseas militaries.
Tiana Yazici, Founder, Chair & CEO of Nonprofit AeroAI Global Solutions. Supplied
Space law expert Dr Tuana Yazici, who has worked with the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs, says banning dual-use technology isn’t realistic. What matters is regulation – but the most relevant international treaty dates from 1967, and there’s no “space police” to enforce anything.
Then there’s the sheer volume of stuff hurtling around up there. Priyanka notes there are 130 million pieces of space debris, with satellites already performing multiple collision-avoidance manoeuvres each month.
Without coordinated traffic management, she says, the risk of Kessler Syndrome – a cascading chain reaction of collisions that could render entire orbits unusable – grows steadily more real.
New Zealand has taken some steps. Aerospace New Zealand signed the Washington Compact last year, committing to sustainability and transparency. But with the 2025 Defence Force procurement plan earmarking $300-600 million for space capabilities, the boundary between civilian and military is likely to keep blurring.
Mark Rocket thinks the country needs to talk about it – openly.
“I think it’s really important for New Zealand to have a public discussion about how we use aerospace technology and defence technology going forward. You know, the world is changing and we need to have a dialogue about the future. I don’t think we really have had that dialogue yet.”
With a seat at the top table of the new space race, it’s a pressing conversation.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
