New Zealand Army launches experimental communications satellite
The New Zealand army officially entered the “space race” by launching an experimental communications satellite aboard an Electron rocket from the American company Rocket Lab, which was launched from the Wallops 2 base in Virginia.
“This is the first time the New Zealand Defense Force has sent a payload into space, marking an important milestone for the New Zealand Space Enterprise and New Zealand as a whole,” said David Galligan, Director of Space Research, Defense Science and Technology (DST). Mentioned in a press release.
The NROL-123 mission's payload, named “Koramiko,” was attached to a research satellite developed by the US Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), which was launched into orbit on March 21.
Mr Galligan also said his ministry's research aims to gain hands-on experience in space science and technology, test New Zealand's space operations and generate knowledge that will enable the New Zealand Defense Force and wider government to develop space in the future, noting that this is the fifth mission to be launched by the company. Spacecraft launched in New Zealand for the NRO, but it is the first to be launched from US soil, with the previous four having lifted off from the Mahia Peninsula in 2020 and 2022.
“NRO is always looking for innovative ways to enhance our capabilities in space and build resiliency in everything we do,” said Laura Robinson, deputy director of the NRO Space Launch Office and NROL-123 mission manager.
Kurameko, on board the small American satellite the size of a suitcase, which orbits the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of 515 kilometers, will provide data to the New Zealand Defense Forces stationed at the Whangaparaoa Earth Station, north of Auckland, to gain practical experience and develop expertise in the field of space science and technology and space operations. .
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