Rocket Lab has come to the rescue of the dozens of children who were denied a chance to visit Nasa in Houston following the collapse of Actura New Zealand. Photo / Trevor Mahlmann
Rocket Lab has come to the rescue of the dozens of children who were denied a chance to visit Nasa in Houston following the collapse of Actura New Zealand. Photo / Trevor Mahlmann
Rocket Lab has come to the rescue of dozens of students who were left devastated when their planned trip to Nasa in Houston fell apart after Actura New Zealand collapsed.
The Kiwi space company has offered affected kids and parents a tour of its Auckland facility.
“It’s not quite the same as space camp,” a Rocket Lab spokesperson said. “But if they can make it to Auckland we’d love to show these kids through the rocket factory and mission control.”
Several parents told the Herald they felt overwhelmed by the generous offer.
One South Island mum said a visit to Rocket Lab would also be a great excuse to visit family.
Rocket Lab has offered a tour of its Mt Wellington facility to those students who missed out on a trip to space camp following the collapse of Actura New Zealand. Photo / Jason Oxenham.
Another mum said the offer was “so incredible” and “the email made me cry”.
One Auckland father who wished to remain anonymous said the Case Space School Programme sold his teenage son a dream their family couldn’t provide.
“He has worked nights, evenings, all over summer to contribute to it and help pay for it. He earned more than $1000 but now it has just gone.
“From our point of view, it took our money and left us with nothing.”
Actura charged up to $13,000 for children from 25 New Zealand schools to attend a two-week Case Space School Programme at the Nasa headquarters in Houston, Texas.
However, parents received an email on Saturday morning from company boss Charles Chung saying Actura Australia had gone into liquidation and the 2024 and 2025 international study programmes - including Case Space School, Case Ocean School and Case Film & Arts School expeditions – were cancelled.
The father learned of the programme through his son’s school and it was billed as a “once in a lifetime” experience.
“They said there needed to be a minimum of 20 people for it to go ahead but said if you wanted to be in, you had to secure a spot.”
The family had already paid $13,000 before they received the cancellation email.
He said the brutal experience had left their son devastated.
“He was dead excited to go and sacrificed a lot. His friends were doing fun stuff with his friends because he was at work and now he is getting nothing for it.”
Otago mum Jaimee Scott told the Herald she had paid nearly $9000 for her 15-year-old son to attend a space school in December this year and made an instalment only four days ago.
Scott said the worst part wasn’t the money but the impact on her son who had always dreamed of being an astronaut.
“He saved every single penny he had to go towards it and went and got a job,” Scott said.
“We live in a rural town so he got a job at a local pub to pay for this. Everyone was involved and really excited.
“We could have bought him a car or done something else. But it was more the fact that it was his dream.”
The Herald has received about 20 emails from families as far away as Singapore who are also out of pocket by the company’s sudden demise. Most have lost between $9000 and $13,000.
A former Actura employee, who did not wish to be named, told the Herald they only found out about the closure in a company-wide Zoom meeting on Friday afternoon.
“We were blindsided by this. It’s not something we were aware of.”
Distraught staff members have now spent the weekend on the phone with parents and teachers.
“The company advised us to cease all communication but that didn’t sit right,” they said.
“We took it upon ourselves to speak to parents and teachers. The least we can do is to talk to them.”
They said all the employees were still in shock and felt powerless as to what they could do.
“For our peace of mind and integrity, it is important to answer these calls.”
However, they said employees have also been left stranded by the sudden closure.
“We have lost our jobs and we haven’t been paid for the last month.
“Friday was payday and we haven’t been paid. No pay, no job. Just cut on Friday afternoon.”
Actura Australia has taken down its website and Facebook pages.
The Herald attempted to email the company however received the response: “Thank you for your email. Unfortunately, Actura has ceased all operations. This inbox is no longer monitored.”
