The Aotearoa New Zealand space sector is growing rapidly. This video introduces 13 experts who work in a variety of fields in science, engineering and mātauranga Māori.
Jargon alert:
Aerospace ecosystem: a network of businesses, research institutes and other organisations that have an interest in aerospace. The term is modelled on the interacting systems within environmental ecosystems.
Questions for discussion:
- Many of the experts mention attitudes and aptitudes – what do you think they mean by not being afraid of the unknown, big visions and things happening on the edge?
- Why is having a seat at the table regarding the use and regulation of space important?
- How does having a space industry help Aotearoa become self-reliant?
Transcript
Dr Sarah Kessans
Senior Lecturer, School of Product Design, Faculty of Engineering, University of Canterbury
There is absolutely a space industry in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Dr Sara Mikaloff-Fletcher
Principal Scientist (Carbon, Chemistry and Climate), NIWA
Science Leader, MethaneSAT
Aotearoa New Zealand is at the brink of growing our presence in space.
Mark Rocket
Chief Executive Officer, Kea Aerospace
Founder and President, Aerospace Christchurch
We’re well on our way to building a really vibrant aerospace ecosystem.
Dr Pauline Harris
Astrophysicist, cosmologist, kairangahau Māori
Senior Lecturer, Te Kawa a Māui – School of Māori Studies, Victoria University of Wellington
Chairperson, Society of Māori Astronomy Research and Traditions
The space industry in Aotearoa is quite broad. We have developed fuel, a system to launch satellites into space, to MethaneSAT.
Jennifer Blackburne
Mechanical Engineer (Propulsion), Dawn Aerospace
There’s certainly a lot more to it than just firing a rocket.
Stefan Powell
Chief Executive Officer, Chief Technical Officer, Co-founder, Dawn Aerospace
Space produces a huge amount of data about Earth – so it’s everything looking back down to Earth.
Dr Beata Bukosa
Atmospheric Modeller, NIWA
What excites me is the numerous possibilities that it can give us.
Dr Sara Mikaloff-Fletcher
Being able to understand how climate is changing, being able to measure those things from space, it’s very transformative because you get an amount of spatial coverage that you’re never going to get with instruments on the ground.
Professor David Noone
Buckley-Glavish Professor of Climate Physics, Department of Physics, University of Auckland
Around the world, there’s a massive growth of interest in space. New Zealand is competitive in this race for space.
Dr Moritz Lehmann
Aquatic remote sensing scientist
Senior Scientist, Xerra Earth Observation Institute
Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, University of Waikato
In order to move things into orbit, you have to start launching from a place that makes available certain orbits, and New Zealand has a good location for that and for downlinking data to be received by a ground station.
Dr Philipp Sueltrop
Chief Technical Officer, Kea Aerospace
One thing that’s underrated is the cultural aspect to it – not being afraid of the unknown.
Juliet McLachlan
Software Engineer (Flight Operations), Dawn Aerospace
Kiwis have a can-do attitude.
Mark Rocket
We do think about things a little bit differently – in our DNA, we are explorers.
Dr Pauline Harris
For Māori, it was our celestial knowledge, which enabled us to travel here on our large waka hourua, and our whakapapa links us to the Sun, Moon and stars and the very beginnings of the universe.
Mark Rocket
Our ancestors have come to the edge of the world in one way or another. Things happen on the edge of civilisation.
Stefan Powell
There are certain niches where we’re pulling ahead, and you know having 50 years’ experience in space might not help you.
Professor David Noone
This means new ideas can come in – we don’t have to do things the way they were done – so there’s some innovations in technology, in approaches, but also in the way that we think about space and utilisation of space.
David Perenara-O’Connell
Māngai, Tāwhaki Joint Venture
There is an opportunity in this growing area where indigenous knowledge can play a vital role in how we develop what is uniquely New Zealand’s space industry.
Dr Pauline Harris
We do bring these unique ideas to contribute to the growth of knowledge.
Dr Moritz Lehmann
It’s important to grow because it’s a driver for innovation. It makes us invent new things and go to places where we’ve not been before.
Dr Sarah Kessans
We really do need to diversify our economy, and one of the ways that we can do that is with technology.
Mark Rocket
The aerospace industry is creating high-value jobs, and we’re positioning ourselves internationally as a high-tech capable country.
Dr Sara Mikaloff-Fletcher
Right now, atmospheric science and remote sensing needs young people. It’s an area where the questions and the problems that we have to tackle to create the more sustainable future we want are so much bigger than the number of people working in the area.
Chris Jackson
Head of Space Operations and Ground Segment, Te Pūnaha Ātea – Space Institute, University of Auckland
We’re helping to train up the next generation of satellite engineers, and that’s great for New Zealand.
Professor David Noone
One of the important benefits of having an active space industry is effectively having a seat at the table to think about how we regulate space and use of space.
Dr Sara Mikaloff Fletcher
By having our own space industry, we don’t have to be reliant on someone else to be able to launch exactly that satellite that we need. It gives us the flexibility to do our own work or to partner as genuine partners, not just data users, with all different types of satellite missions.
Stefan Powell
One of the main reasons that we go to space is to improve life on Earth – that’s satellite internet, that’s predicting the weather. There’s just so many ways that space technology can help us solve these massive problems ahead of us.
Dr Philipp Sueltrop
There are space applications telling you all sorts of information, from do we have any crop disease? – Do you need fertiliser? Do you fulfil compliance around environmental issues? – and the whole maritime domain to search and rescue, to border surveillance.
Dr Sara Mikaloff-Fletcher
The ability to measure the Earth from space, that’s really a transformative technology.
Dr Beata Bukosa
It can get us closer to seeing the whole picture, and the information that we can get out from these techniques is just really crucial in order to fight climate change.
Stefan Powell
Suddenly, space is not only a thing in New Zealand, but we’re doing it better than many other players.
Acknowledgements
Dr Sarah Kessans, University of Canterbury
Dr Sara Mikaloff-Fletcher, NIWA
Mark Rocket, Kea Aerospace
Dr Pauline Harris, Victoria University of Wellington and SMART
Jennifer Blackburne, Dawn Aerospace
Stefan Powell, Dawn Aerospace Dr Beata Bukosa, NIWA
Professor David Noone, University of Auckland
Dr Moritz Lehmann, Xerra Earth Observation Institute
Dr Philipp Sueltrop, Kea Aerospace
Juliet McLachlan, Dawn Aerospace
David Perenara-O’Connell, Tāwhaki Joint Venture
Chris Jackson, Te Pūnaha Ātea – Space Institute, University of Auckland
International Space Station passing over South Island, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, NASA Johnson Space Center
Awarua ground station, students working on CubeSats at University of Auckland and rooftop weather station, MBIE
Launch of Rocket Lab Atea-1 technology demonstration in 2009 and still of early team with Mark Rocket, Rocket Lab
Thruster and footage of Aurora space plane, Dawn Aerospace
Satellite images of New Zealand coast, Mt Taranaki and farmland and Starboard Maritime Intelligence app, Xerra Earth Observation Institute
Infrared capture of methane leak and shots of gas plant from plane, Permian Basin methane mapping project with Scientific Aviation and the University of Wyoming and animation of MethaneSAT satellite above Earth and satellite field of view, all courtesy of MethaneSAT and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)
Weather model on computer screen, Dr Lauren Vargo photographing glaciers from small aircraft and ozonesonde being released at Lauder, NIWA
Satellite image of New Zealand, NASA, released under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic licence
Ātea a Rangi star compass, man blowing conch shell and tamariki running in Waitangi Regional Park, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council
Māori star compass, Rāwiri Taonui, ‘Canoe navigation – Ocean voyaging’, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand (accessed 27 June 2022)
Illustrations of waka hourua, ancient voyaging canoe and discovery of Hawai’i, Herb Kawainui Kāne Trust
Dr Philipp Sueltrop at computer, ChristchurchNZ
Dr Pauline Harris at telescope and researching using microfiche, Project Mātauranga, Scottie Productions
Mark Rocket being interviewed by media, Kea Atmos in flight and satellite image of city, Kea Aerospace
Mana Vautier on phone in NASA control room and stills, courtesy of Mana Vautier and Callaghan Innovation
Ozone data visualisation, NASA Ozone Watch/Goddard Space Flight Center, Scientific Visualization Studio
Cryosat II measuring sea ice, European Space Agency (ESA)
3D visualisation of the emission and transport of atmospheric methane around the globe, NASA Scientific Visualization Studio
Mount Ruapehu satellite composite image, NASA
Compiled satellite imagery of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai January 2022 eruption by Marc Horat Imagery, NOAA GOES-17 (GOES-West) satellite
Timelapse of Sentinel-2 imagery showing changing water colour, Lake Waikare, Dr Moritz Lehmann, Xerra Earth Observation Institute
