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Sky's the limit: Govt increases NZ's rocket launch cap

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Thu, 12 Feb 2026, 7:01pm
Photo / Trevor Mahlmann
Photo / Trevor Mahlmann

Sky's the limit: Govt increases NZ's rocket launch cap

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Thu, 12 Feb 2026, 7:01pm

Government regulations and the sky aren't the limit for Rocket Lab, with the rocket launch cap multiplied by 10 to 1000.

A review of space-launch-debris-regulations judged the environmental risk to be low.

New Zealand comes third in the world - for frequency of orbital rocket launches.

Rocket Lab's vice-president of communications, Morgan Connaughton says this bump is needed.

She says Rocket Lab's already reached 81 launches.

"Back when Rocket Lab started launching, 100 seemed like a fantasy. And then here we are, not all that much longer later, and our team is planning celebrations for the 100th launch already." 

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