Recent papers reveal New Zealand is becoming a vital global space hub.
NASA’s Orion spacecraft on the Artemis II mission at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on April 1, 2026. Joel Kowsky/NASA via Getty Images
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The United States government is increasingly looking to New Zealand as a possible space launch site, as the Pentagon warns that existing infrastructure is struggling to keep pace with an unprecedented surge in missions.
A recent Congressional briefing paper (pdf) says the U.S. Space Force anticipates supporting 173 launches in 2026—a massive jump from just 25 a decade earlier.
