While everyone knows about New Zealand's RocketLab. But there are few other companies in New Zealand that are in the space industry. So how many other companies are there in the space and aviation manufacturing companies are there in little old New Zealand. What I will say is that there are probably more than this list.
This list doesn't cover the companies that are maintaining the aircraft and vehicles or companies that just fly imported aircraft as there are 100's of these scattered across the country. But more into the innovation and design, manufacturing side.
RocketLab
RocketLab is while technically a US company the owner and founder Peter Beck aka the Rocket Man. Peter need funding from the US to get his dream moving. To get this funding he needed to register as a US company. The headquarters RocketLAB USA and with a fully locally owned subsidiary RocketLab here in NZ. Most of the development of much of the technology was developed here in New Zealand and sent to the US to mass produce.
RocketLAB as the time of writing has had 15 missions, with only only one paying customer mission a failure mission 13. The first mission "It's a Test" also technically failed as it did not reach space and was terminated... but was not carrying any payload.
Dawn AeroSpace
Many new space launcher companies are focusing on making rockets cheaper using modern, but expensive, technologies such as carbon fibre and 3D printing. But those efforts are based on the same 1950s expendable rocket technology and therefore subject to the same airspace restrictions, launch site costs and wastefulness associated with technology originally meant for nuclear missiles.
Dawn Aerospace is bringing space transportation into the scalable yet sustainable era; Where we reuse hardware thousands of times. Where spaceplanes integrate with, not displace, other air users. Where toxic rocket chemicals and throwing dead rockets in the ocean is a thing of the past.
The co founder spent time in the Netherlands studying at university
Argo Navis AeroSpace
Argo Navis Aerospace develop innovative chemical propulsion systems for the space industry. We focus on achieving an unmatched combination of performance, scalability, reliability and cost. Argo Navis Aerospace is proudly backed by WNT Ventures and Callaghan Innovation.
Pyka Autonomous Electric Airplanes
Pyka aircraft use less power than an electric car, and have very few moving parts, giving them the versatility of aerial application at a competitive price point. Our autonomous flight controller keeps the operator safely on the ground, while our airplanes fly close to the surface - avoiding obstacles as they go. Our aircraft combine a large swath with a tight turning radius, allowing them to churn through both broad acreage and small plots alike. With their on-board sensors, our airplanes spray along precise paths while continually compensating for wind to minimize drift. This uses less chemical per acre and dramatically decreases the risk of accidental exposure.
Skybase/Mapbits
Unmanned aviation is the future of aviation. By 2035, there will be commercial flights across oceans with one or no pilots on board. Around 80% of all aviation accidents are caused by humans, and the safest thing we can do is to automate airborne tasks and also those on the ground. Mapbits can get you lidar aerial mapping data faster than anyone else. We can fly at night, under clouds, and in areas that manned aircraft can’t access.
Kea AeroSpace
Kea Aerospace is a Christchurch based company and has teamed up with Asteria for the NZ Aerospace Challenge. Kea Aerospace is building the unmanned high-altitude aircraft Kea Atmos, a solar powered fixed-wing aircraft with a flight endurance of multiple weeks and the ability to fly in the stratosphere to collect high resolution multi-spectral imagery. For the Challenge the team will build a small-scale version of this aircraft as a technology demonstrator. The collected high resolution imagery will provide the means for accurate, large scale water and soil pollution monitoring.
Pacific Aerospace
At Pacific Aerospace Ltd we design and manufacture tough, reliable and easy to maintain aircraft that perform where others can't. Our principles are to manufacture aircraft that are not over engineered and that are optimised for the jobs they do. We do not design our aircraft to be everything to everybody but we know what we do best and are driven to ensure that we "own" our aircraft for their lifetime. We believe our customers' success drives our success.
Alpha Aviation
Based in Hamilton, New Zealand, Alpha Aviation produces the Alpha 2000 Series (formerly known as the Robin R2160 and R2120) training aircraft. These fun-to-fly aircraft are fast establishing themselves with Flying Schools and Aero Clubs as the 'trainer of choice' because of their ease of maintenance, their high availability rates, and their lower 'total-cost-of-ownership' proposition. The fact that they're such a great aircraft to fly AND are fully aerobatics rated makes them an even more attractive option.
So explore our site and get to know our aircraft, because we think this is the 2-seater, aerobatics-capable trainer aircraft that your head, your heart AND your hip pocket will all agree on!
https://www.alphaaviation.co.nz/index.shtml
Vickers Aircraft Company Ltd
Driven by an unwavering desire to build the sexiest, safest, and most cost-effective amphibious light sport aircraft in the world, I have spent many years, countless hours, and considerable amounts of money turning that desire into a reality. There were those who said we could never do it, not in the timeframe and with the weights we set out to achieve. But we pushed ahead, and although we’re still a few months away from feeling the wind beneath our wings, I am proud to say that we’re well on track.
https://www.vickersaircraft.com
ElectricAir
ElectricAir is a Christchurch start-up on a mission to clean up our skies. Electric planes are cleaner, quieter and cheaper to operate. We believe New Zealand is a no brainer for electric planes, with one of the highest rates of short haul flights per person of any country in the world and an electricity grid powered from predominantly renewable sources. We want to see more owners and operators choosing to go electric and our first aircraft, the Pipistrel Alpha Electro, is paving the way.
“It all began back in 2016. I was driving an electric car but I was flying a petrol plane. It just wasn’t good enough. So I set out to find a solution. On the pretence of a family holiday in Slovenia I visited the Pipistrel factory and flew in the Alpha Electro. I was hooked. And the rest is history.
Having been joined by a team of like-minded individuals and organisations, our mission is to encourage others to go electric. We have the first electric aircraft in New Zealand, so come and experience clean, quiet, guilt-free flying. You’ll be hooked.”
Companies or Ventures bringing them together
New Zealand Space Agency
We are the front door for space activity in New Zealand – the lead government agency for space policy, regulation and sector development.
https://www.mbie.govt.nz/science-and-technology/space/
Aerospace Christchurch
Promoting the interests of the Christchurch and Canterbury aerospace community. We encompass broad aspects of aerospace: aviation, space flight, rocketry, manufacturing, engineering, geospatial mapping, data analytics, education, training and services. Aerospace Christchurch works with interested individuals and organisations that want to grow the economic wealth and aerospace capability of Christchurch.
https://www.christchurch.space
Spacebase
SpaceBase was the delivery Partner of the NZ Space Challenge 2018 and the New Zealand Aerospace Challenge 2019 . We ran the very first aerospace virtual incubator in NZ for the Challenge.
