A French space company says it’s feasible to build a spaceport south of Christchurch for European rocket launches.
SpacedreamS has done the study for the Crown-iwi national aerospace joint venture Tāwhaki.
The joint study says a New Zealand spaceport could help Europeans spread the risks of “weather, technical problems and geopolitics”.
Tāwhaki has swung from aiming to launch rockets when it was set up five years ago, to giving up on that when the government reduced its funding, to a sharp swing back since 2025 as the global space industry ramps up.
A spaceport at Kaitōrete Spit site on Lake Ellesmere Te Waihora south of Christchurch would be only the country’s second, after US-headquartered Rocket Lab’s Mahia site.
The study envisages a spaceport with multiple uses.
“We now have a credible long-term framework to continue building towards launch capabilities outside Europe, at a centre that can cater for small and heavy launchers, and with capabilities to support rapid technology development and testing,” Christian Canart, chief executive and founder of SpaceDreamS, said in a statement on Wednesday.
Tāwhaki and SpacedreamS say talks are going on with government, industry and potential investors in Europe.
Tāwhaki acting chief executive John Holt said the centre was ideal for international space resilience.
The plan was for launch infrastructure that aligned with Māori values including caring for the environment or kaitiakitanga through prioritising low-emission propellants.
Two Wairewa rūnanga members Wiki Martin and Dr Alvina Edwards and activist John Minto questioned the announcement in a joint statement on Wednesday.
“A feasibility study is not a ‘job done’,” they said. “It is only the beginning of something much bigger.
“If ‘Whānau First’ truly guides this development, whānau should not receive only carefully prepared media releases after decisions have already been made.”
They said the study raised questions such as what the spaceport would be used for. “Where do the boundaries lie between commercial space activity, defence, intelligence and dual-use capability?”
Dual-use refers to spacecraft and infrastructure that have both civilian and military uses.
At least half a dozen countries are pursuing-building spaceports, some of them within new alliances.
The US is spending large sums updating and expanding its own ports that are under huge pressure as NASA is forced to share them more and more with military and commercial launches.