Rocket
Lab
gets
Airways
agreement
for
New
Zealand
launch
testing
New
Zealand
space
startup
Rocket
Lab
has
moved
a
step
closer
to
its
first
test
and
commercial
rocket
launches
following
a
deal
with
government-owned
airspace
controller
Airways
New
Zealand.
Under
the
agreement
Airways
will
provide
Rocket
Lab
with
air
traffic
services
for
its
rocket
launches
from
its
private
launch
site
on
the
Mahia
Peninsula.
Airways
New
Zealand
CEO
Pauline
Lamb
said
the
organisation
had
been
working
with
Rocket
Lab
for
the
past
18
months
in
preparation
for
the
launch
of
its
Electron
rocket.
It
has
created
a
“special
use
airspace”
designation
for
the
rocket
as
it
launches
through
New
Zealand
airspace.
“Our
air
traffic
controllers
will
protect
this
airspace
from
other
aircraft
using
airspace
separation
procedures,
and
will
do
all
they
can
to
minimise
the
impact
the
launch
operations
may
have
on
other
airspace
users,”
Lamb
said.
“Allowing
safe
and
flexible
access
to
our
airspace
will
be
an
important
factor
in
supporting
this
emerging
industry
in
New
Zealand,
and
Airways
is
committed
to
enabling
this.”
Rocket
Lab
has
developed
its
own
commercial
launch
facility
on
Mahia
Peninsula
and
plans
to
deliver
commercial
payloads
into
space
with
up
to
100
launches
per
year.
Last
month
it
reported
that
it
had
installed
the
50-ton
launch
platform,
the
final
major
step
in
preparing
the
site
for
the
arrival
of
the
first
Electron
launch
vehicle,
which
will
start
testing
in
the
coming
months.
Rocket
Lab
CEO
Peter
Beck
noted
that
Airways
was
in a
strong
position
to
be
working
with
the
company
as
it
embarks
on
rocket
launches
into
space
from
New
Zealand.
The
air
traffic
control
provider
has
already
enabled
around
120
near-space
launches
through
New
Zealand
airspace,
with
organisations
such
as
NASA
and
Google
using
New
Zealand
for
their
balloon
launches
due
to
the
relatively
uncongested
airspace.
As
previously
reported
in
CommsDay,
the
New
Zealand
government
has
also
been
working
to
ensure
that
its
regulatory
environment
can
support
a
nascent
rocket
launching
industry.
Economic
development
minister
Stephen
Joyce
has
cited
Rocket
Lab
and
other
potential
launch
companies
as
the
driver
behind
the
space
regulation
overhaul.
“The
company
and
its
parent
company,
Rocket
Lab
USA,
are
almost
ready
to
start
launching
rockets
commercially,
and
we
need
to
introduce
a
regulatory
framework
so
they
and
others
that
come
after
them
can
operate
from
New
Zealand,”
Joyce
said.
Geoff
Long
