As last week’s Aerospace Summit in Christchurch made clear, New Zealand is rapidly developing capabilities and partnerships in a sector estimated to be worth NZ$2.5 billion to the national economy.

The summit’s defence session also highlighted the increasingly close links between civilian and military aerospace activities, raising important questions about the implications.

Just last month, New Zealand agreed to spend nearly $24 million to fund a military satellite led by the United Sstates Department of War for the Wideband Global SATCOM constellation.

The government also renewed participation in Operation Olympic Defender, a US-led military partnership aimed at making space safe and secure.

But becoming increasingly involved in international efforts to protect satellite services critical to infrastructure – including navigation, banking and communications – creates a dilemma.

As countries expand military capabilities to make space more secure, their actions can make others feel threatened, increasing the very tensions they are trying to prevent.

It also highlights how dual-use approaches to satellite technology could threaten the many benefits of the satellite services the country relies on.

Because it doesn’t own any of the satellites providing essential infrastructure services, if an operator decided to restrict access or withdraw coverage altogether, New Zealand would have no say.

The United Kingdom’s recently released space........

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