Aotearoa New Zealand could play a greater role in Europe’s space industry, following a joint feasibility study into a vertical launch facility at Tāwhaki National Aerospace Centre on Kaitorete, near Ōtautahi Christchurch.
Tāwhaki National Aerospace Centre and French company SpaceDreamS confirmed that the Te Waipounamu South Island site is technically and operationally suitable for vertical launch, adding further weight to its viability as an international spaceport. This presents an exciting opportunity for development and opens the door to the next phase of commercial, regulatory, and partnership work.
The study highlighted the growing importance of diversified launch capabilities for Europe to mitigate risks and delays caused by weather, technical problems and geopolitics. With much of the world depending on satellites for communications, navigation, weather forecasting, defence and more – having more than one spaceport is crucial.
Christian Canart, CEO and Founder of SpaceDreamS, says the study provides a strong foundation to further explore New Zealand’s potential as an alternative launch hub for Europe, supporting assured access to space.
“The completion of the feasibility phase with Tāwhaki confirms the relevance of a New Zealand-based spaceport for European space industry resilience. 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.”
Tāwhaki Acting Chief Executive John Holt says the study with SpaceDreamS highlights the role Aotearoa can play in the global space ecosystem.
“This is about long-term resilience, sovereign capability, and future aerospace infrastructure development that complements the ecosystem internationally – and the Tāwhaki National Aerospace Centre at Kaitorete is ideally positioned for this. Exploring the development of a spaceport for global opportunities in Aotearoa is an exciting outcome of this study.”
The study sets out plans for state-of-the-art launch architecture at Kaitorete, aligned with Māori values including kaitiakitanga (caring for the environment) through minimising pollutants and prioritising low-emission propellants.
Future vertical launch facilities would complement the existing 1km sealed runway, hangar ‘Whaitiri’ and Part 71 Special-Use Airspace, which already support advanced aviation operators – with the potential to add integrated capabilities such as manufacturing and testing of leading-edge launch technologies.
Tāwhaki and SpaceDreamS are now continuing discussions with government agencies, institutional partners, industry stakeholders and potential investors across Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
More about Tāwhaki National Aerospace Centre
Tāwhaki National Aerospace Centre offers significant potential for launch and aerospace infrastructure development for a wide variety of vehicles and missions. Its combination of uninhabited land, ocean, clear skies and designated Special-Use Airspace is unparalleled globally, with access to a wide range of desirable orbits from the Southern Hemisphere. Proximity to Ōtautahi Christchurch city offers highly skilled people, fuels, cutting-edge technology and other infrastructure to support vertical launch.
Anchored in a world-first indigenous partnership between Te Taumutu Rūnanga, Wairewa Rūnanga and the Crown, aerospace activities at Tāwhaki ultimately support the rejuvenation of the whenua (land) on Kaitorete alongside mana whenua – Māori who hold ancestral authority or stewardship over the area.
More about SpaceDreamS
SpaceDreamS designs interoperable, modular launch infrastructure so that a single launcher is no longer tied to a single pad. Instead, a network of spaceports operates more like a network of airports.
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