New Zealand's Growing Space and Aviation Sectors: Scale, Ambition, and Global Impact

The space and advanced aviation sectors are entering a phase defined by scale, ambition and global relevance, Space Minister Judith Collins says.

At this summit a year ago I released the New Zealand Space and Advanced Aviation Strategy, which set out our ambition to double the value of the sectors by 2030, Ms Collins said at this year’s New Zealand Aerospace Summit in Christchurch today.

An economic report released earlier this year shows space sector revenues increased 53 percent to $2.68 billion in the five years to 2024, and the advanced aviation sector, which overlaps with the space sector, had a total estimated revenue of $530 million in 2024.

Our space and advanced aviation sectors are more than just rockets, drones and satellites. They’re about advanced manufacturing, AI and autonomy, earth monitoring and next-generation mobility.

The sectors are also about building a high-tech economy that delivers high-value jobs and solutions to global challenges.

We are on track to establish a world-leading regulatory environment for the sectors. By the end of this year, we will have put in place a regulatory sandbox where tests can be carried out freely and safely.

New Zealand’s approach to advanced aviation regulations is proving to be world-leading and will attract more interest from overseas players keen to take advantage of a safe and responsive and regulatory environment.

In July we passed new legislation to deter foreign interference and protect New Zealand’s national interests and national security through a new regulatory regime for operators of ground-based space infrastructure.

In terms of a national space mission, our first objective is to develop our sovereign space capabilities, and I expect I will have more to say about this by the end of the year.

All of this is evidence New Zealand’s space and advanced aviation sectors are no longer emerging, they’re here and they’re accelerating.