MAHIA PENINSULA, New Zealand (AFP) – Rocket Lab, a Silicon Valley-funded space launch company, on Thursday (May 25) launched the maiden flight of its battery-powered, 3-D printed rocket from New Zealand’s remote Mahia Peninsula.
The successful launch of a low-cost, 3D-printed rocket is an important step in the commercial race to bring down financial and logistical barriers to space while also making New Zealand an unlikely space hub.
The Los Angeles and New Zealand-based rocket firm has touted its service as a way for companies to get satellites into orbit regularly.
The firm had spent the past four years preparing for the test launch and last week received the go-ahead from the United States Federal Aviation Administration, which is monitoring the flight.
Ships and planes need re-routing every time a rocket is launched, which limits opportunities in crowded US skies, but New Zealand, a country of 4 million people in the South Pacific, has only Antarctica to its south.
The country is also well-positioned to send satellites bound for a north-to-south orbit around the poles.
