The New Zealand Space Agency (within the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment) has released the Government’s National Space Policy (NSP). You can access the NSP document here. The purpose of the NSP, as set out in the forward by the Minister for Economic Development, is to be a reference to communicate the country’s interests, inform the creation of future space policies and the country’s overall direction in this sector.
The NSP is a short document and an easy read. It outlines New Zealand’s existing space commitments, sets out values and objectives for space policy and notes the role of the various Government agencies in this sector.
The values are stewardship, innovation, responsibility and partnership. Key elements of these values are:
- preserving space and Earth environments for future generations;
- encouraging responsible innovation, science and technology;
- advocating for a peaceful, sustainable, safe and secure space environment; and
- engaging effectively on space.
Five objectives are set out, which align with these values and then drill down into various actions. However, within these objectives is a stated need to undertake more work in many areas, for instance a need to understand risk of threats in and from space, and to gather environmental data to assess the impact of space activities from New Zealand.
Some key elements of the objectives are:
- supporting end-to-end New Zealand research and development capabilities;
- being an early adopter and investor in space technologies;
- facilitating an enabling environment for space technologies in New Zealand; and
- actively participating in removing international space debris and creating policies to enable the removal of space debris and reducing the time derelict objects are in orbit.
The NSP is a useful document for understanding the Government’s approach to space and where it will be targeting its focus. This is a developing sector and we will continue to monitor activities.
