Rocket Lab signs deal to get Japanese satellites into space

Rocket Lab has signed a landmark deal to send 10 satellites into space for a Japanese company, Synspective.

The agreement is Rocket Lab’s largest single launch contract to date, by the number of launches (Rocket Lab founder and chief executive Sir Peter Beck wouldn’t disclose the value of the deal in dollar terms).

Its scale is significant in the context of deals signed in the industry.

Synspective will use small SAR (synthetic aperture radar) satellites to collect data, which it can sell to companies or governments.

The satellites could detect anomalies in critical infrastructure, monitor crop growth conditions, detect illegal logging and fishing, monitor maritime traffic, and analyse tree cover for example.

The rockets will be launched from Māhia between 2025 and 2027.

Speaking to media, at a signing ceremony attended by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in Tokyo, Beck acknowledged how valuable the data could be for security in the region.

Defence and geopolitics are high priority for Luxon during his trip to Japan.

Later in the day, he’s visiting Yokosuka Naval Base and meeting Japanese Defence Minister Minoru Kihara.

Rocket Lab has been launching for Synspective since 2020. It has already launched four rockets for the company and has contracts to launch another two later in the year.

“Japan’s space industry is one of the fastest-growing globally and we’re excited to be enabling this growth through the unique collaboration of a US rocket and a New Zealand launch site, delivering an unprecedented level of tailored access to orbit for Japanese small satellites,” Beck said.

Synspective founder and chief executive Motoyuki Arai explained the satellites the company is launching are valuable as they can detect millimetre-level changes to the Earth’s surface from space, regardless of the weather, or whether it’s day or night.

“We will continue to build an analytics platform that enables visualisation and analysis of global environmental and economic activities, starting with constructing a SAR satellite constellation,” Arai said.

“These efforts will help make human activities sustainable for our generation and address the challenges of a changing global environment and depleting resources.”

Journalists received Government assistance for travel costs to Japan when the NZDF plane broke down in Papua New Guinea.

Jenée Tibshraeny is the Herald’s Wellington business editor, based in the parliamentary press gallery. She specialises in government and Reserve Bank policymaking, economics and banking.