New Zealand is taking steps to deter unwanted foreign interference in the island nation’s growing space-based infrastructure and its work in tracking and controlling spacecraft, space surveillance, and transferring data to and from spacecraft.
A new regulatory regime took effect in July 2025 as a response to concerns raised by New Zealand’s intelligence service that some foreign entities had tried to establish space infrastructure there, Reuters reported. The attempts would have “assisted foreign military activity that could have harmed New Zealand interests,” the service said.
No mention was made of threats from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) specifically, but the intelligence report noted that the CCP remains a complex intelligence concern in New Zealand. Other states also are undertaking malicious activity, the report said.
New Zealand is a member of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, along with Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Industry experts told Reuters that New Zealand’s location gives it a leg up as it tries to tap into the $600 billion-plus global space market. The country hosted seven rocket launches in 2023, the fourth-most globally and all by Rocket Lab, a company founded by New Zealand entrepreneur Peter Beck. Rocket Lab has launched more than 40 rockets from New Zealand since 2017, including intelligence missions for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office.