STARLIFT draws in NZ as states seek rocket launchpads

New Zealand has joined a NATO programme for faster rocket launches in case satellites get damaged or attacked, as fears about war in space grow and as NASA warns its launchpads are deteriorating.

The fledgling STARLIFT programme is part of a push by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation into the Indo-Pacific that has upset China.

The government said it had outlined New Zealand's space capabilities to STARLIFT. It foresaw business coming out of it.

"Observer status would provide early insight into the programme and emerging commercial opportunities, without any financial or legal commitments," the Defence Force said.

Asked what launch access was envisaged - the country's only spaceport is Rocket Lab's private one at Mahia - Defence Minister Chris Penk said they had not discussed specifics.

"It's too early to comment on what, if any, launch access would be involved," he told RNZ on Tuesday.

Earlier, Defence said it was seeking observer status on STARLIFT, but the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) firmed up on that.

"In March 2026, New Zealand was confirmed as an observer," MBIE said on Tuesday.

Multifaceted attacks and ageing launchpads

The Nikkei news agency earlier reported that NATO had invited New Zealand to join STARLIFT, along with Japan, South Korea and Australia. The four make up IP4, or Indo-Pacific Four - a security collective set up in 2022 for coordinating with the US-European alliance.

"The advancement of Russia's and China's military capabilities in space has NATO wary of satellites being interfered with or destroyed," Nikkei reported.

A new report on US exercises in January that modelled Chinese and Russian attacks on satellites said the side that reconstitutes most rapidly will be in the best position to prevail.

China most recently urged NATO last week to rectify its "wrongful perception of China" and stop instigating confrontation and buck-passing.

The satellite attack report and the NASA audit starkly underlined the stakes around national security space launch capabilities.

The audit said NASA's ageing launch infrastructure - which the Department of War also uses - could not cope with a surge in commercial launches. Many commercial launches carry dual-purpose commercial-military payloads.

One of its constrained spaceports, Wallops in Virginia, is also where US-NZ company Rocket Lab launches from. Its other site is at a recently expanded Mahia.

One chapter title in the audit read: 'Declining Budgets, Statutory Funding Barriers, and Cost Recovery Practices Impede NASA from Maintaining and Upgrading Aging Launch Infrastructure.'

China's five, versus US' two

Separately, the satellite attack report said the US must integrate its allies.

"Importantly, the US space launch architecture must be expanded to rapidly launch replacement satellites following attrition of on-orbit capabilities," said the Mitchell Institute.

"Notably, China has five space launch complexes, while the United States has two.

"A greater number of launch facilities and resources could mean more rapid replacement of forces, delivering a war-winning architecture for prolonged conflict in space."

The US has been looking abroad at launch options, but the New Zealand government has said it has not had talks about this.

Congress recently ordered a report on launch locations outside the continental United States, taking into account geographic and orbital dynamic considerations, and environmental, logistical and regulatory factors that may make alternate locations viable or advantageous, including cost comparisons and potential challenges in establishing infrastructure at such locations.

MBIE said: "We are not involved in the US government's study.

"If there was interest beyond Mahia, the New Zealand Space Agency would expect to become involved, although not necessarily as the first point of contact."

STARLIFT expands

The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) recently took part in a US-led exercise dubbed Apollo Griffin that US Space Force said developed and rehearsed the command's first wartime-prioritised target list for space operations. The effort significantly shortened targeting timelines and strengthened joint and allied integration, it said.

The government has been deepening political and practical collaboration with NATO, including in IP4, in recent years. Analysts say Beijing's misgivings arise from NATO's "decision in 2022 to go global".

STARLIFT - part of the practical push - expanded in March to include Canada, beyond its 14 founding members in Europe and the US.

NATO's space policy says it is a domain which is "essential to the Alliance's deterrence and defence".

The IP4 collaboration could expand based on country-specific interests and "comparative advantages", according to an analysis titled 'Cooperation Between European and Indo-Pacific Powers in the US Alliance System'.

New Zealand has comparative launch advantage to get rockets to orbit in clear southern hemisphere skies, official studies have said.

'Low cost, low risk step'

MBIE said it advised the government about STARLIFT alongside the space agency and Defence. It emphasised how it aimed for "safe, secure and responsible use of space".

Penk said: "We have engaged with NATO on its STARLIFT programme, which has involved outlining New Zealand's space capabilities."

The NZDF said observer status in STARLIFT helped position the local space sector, including launch providers, to access potential future work.

"This is a low cost, low risk step that keeps New Zealand aligned with IP4 partners and preserves the option for deeper involvement in future."

Rocket Lab is the sole launch provider into orbit, while the iwi-Crown run Tāwhaki national aerospace centre south of Christchurch has a runway that launches tests of high-altitude drones and the like.

Spaceports are being developed by several countries in Europe and Asia for dual commercial-military use, though New Zealand remains in the small top group of launchers alongside the US, Russia, China and India. Canada is building a spaceport in Nova Scotia, which the government has said it would lease in a $250m, 10-year deal.

One goal is rapid launch - often called "responsive" launch - as the so-called Great Power Competition in space intensifies. Rocket Lab is involved in responsive launch, calling it "space on demand".

The NZDF defence capability plan has put it on track for what it calls a "large investment in space outputs".

It has few space assets of its own and mostly relies on accessing US ones, while also providing the likes of satellite-monitoring from ground hubs for the Pentagon. It has planned space operations with the US.

The US said Apollo Griffin was a "milestone". Defence said it worked closely in Griffin with partners on "delivery of effects", while highlighting the importance of protecting space capability against "degrading or destructive effects".