ROCKET LAB

Drags NZ Into US Militarisation Of Space

- Murray Horton

In Watchdog 152 (December 2019) I wrote the article: "Time To Recognise Rocket Lab For What It Is. A US Facility For The US Military & Spies On NZ Soil". I labelled it "A New US Base In NZ". That article brought together what we knew about Rocket Lab, drawing heavily on the work of NZ investigative journalist Ollie Neas and our very own Dennis Small.

Rocket Lab is cashing in on the US Empire's mania to dominate not only the planet but also space. Donald Trump's contribution to this extra-terrestrial imperialism has been to create Space Force as a new branch of the US military (see "America Really Does Have A Space Force. We Went Inside To See What it Does", Time, 23/7/20).

Newest Director: CIA, Laser Weapons, Space Militarisation

If there was any doubt that Rocket Lab is simply an American-owned contractor for the US military/intelligence empire, further proof came in September 2020 with the revelation that: "Rocket Lab's new Board member headed the CIA's venture capital firm and is a proponent of deploying high-powered laser weapons in space".

"Michael Griffin, who was until recently an Under-Secretary of Defense in the Trump Administration, was welcomed onto the Board of the aerospace and small satellite company in August (2020). In the 1980s he held a senior role in then-President Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative ballistic missile defence programme ("Star Wars". Ed), and later headed NASA".

"Griffin also once served as the President of In-Q-Tel, which he described in a 2013 NASA oral history as the venture capital fund of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). 'I was running what was essentially a technical venture capital fund whose purpose was to make products and services available to the intelligence community', he said".

"In 2016, Rocket Lab Chief Executive (Peter) Beck was among the speakers at a summit for chief executives of companies associated with In-Q-Tel. A programme from the summit indicated Rocket Lab was among the firm's portfolio companies at the time. Rocket Lab is not currently listed as a portfolio company on In-Q-Tel's Website. A Rocket Lab spokeswoman would not say whether the company remained on In-Q-Tel's books. Nor would the company disclose how much money it had received or what products it had developed for the spy agency venture capital firm".

"Griffin appeared at a 2019 summit focussed on directed energy weapons - which include lasers, microwaves and particle beams - hosted by US consulting giant Booz Allen Hamilton.... He was described in the New York Times as an 'unabashed defender of American military and political supremacy' and is also a proponent of hypersonic missiles" (Stuff, 18/9/20, "Rocket Lab's New Hire Has Roots In the CIA, Laser Weapons And Space Militarisation").

The Government Is Being Very Obliging

In the year since my original article, Rocket Lab has kept on doing what it does, as an American company operating out of New Zealand (Auckland and Mahia Peninsula) launching - among others - satellites for the US military and intelligence agencies. Some of its payloads are classified (one such 2019 payload was revealed, in 2020, to have been for the Mexican military - Rocket Lab's first military customer outside of the US). This article updates the story as of late 2020.

Rocket Lab is expanding rapidly. In December 2019 it announced that it had started constructing a second launch pad on the Mahia Peninsula, as it works towards its goal of wanting to launch rockets on a weekly basis (it is also working towards having a US launch site, in Virginia. The first scheduled launch from there will be in partnership with the US Space Force).

That same month it released updated rules on what can be sent into space from NZ. Payloads that contribute to nuclear weapons programmes or capabilities are banned. Rocket Lab has never been involved with nuclear weapons, so that won't affect it. The rules also prohibit "payloads with the intended end use of supporting or enabling specific defence, security or intelligence operations that are contrary to Government policy".

But as NZ is an active defence, security and intelligence partner of the US, and Rocket Lab is an American company, this is meaningless. Rocket Lab is working for US defence and intelligence agencies, which is in line with Government policy. Phil Twyford, the then Economic Development Minister, said that Rocket Lab's earlier launches of US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) payloads would have been fine under these "beefed-up" rules. So, business as usual.

Shortly thereafter, in January 2020, Rocket Lab announced that it would launch a satellite for the US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the military agency in charge of American spy satellites. Minister Twyford approved it - to their credit, the Greens expressed concerns. Peter Crabtree, the head of the NZ Space Agency, explicitly spelled out the politics - payloads have to meet a series of tests, including "our national security and wider national interest... New Zealand has a deep and long-standing security relationship with the US government and a history of collaboration across a range of issues" (NZ Herald, 22/1/20, "Greens 'Concerned' About Rocket Lab Launch For US Spy Agency").

Government support for Rocket Lab extends to using taxpayers' money to facilitate its operations. In February 2020 it was announced that the Provincial Growth Fund (one of the major trophies won by Labour's then Coalition partner, New Zealand First) would spend $8 million on upgrading Mahia Peninsula roads, including $1m on sealing the four km private road that leads to Rocket Lab's launch site.

NZ's First's Fletcher Tabuteau, then Undersecretary for Regional Economic Development, said "...these roading upgrades will enable them (Rocket Lab) to safely transport equipment, as well as allow for further development" (Press, 26/2/20, "Taxpayers Fund Rocket Road"). During Level 4 lockdown, the Government granted exemptions for 26 overseas workers to enter NZ to help Rocket Lab launch rockets.

Setbacks

Rocket Lab suffered a setback in July 2020 when its' $11.5 million Electron rocket burned up in space, along with its payload of commercial satellites. If you're superstitious, then you won't be surprised that this was its 13th launch. It was the first loss of a rocket but not its first setback. In its late 2019 launch window it launched one satellite whose sole purpose was to rain down artificial "shooting stars" into the night sky. "The satellite is owned by Japanese company ALE, whose goal was described by the (UK) Sun in January (2019) as being to 'wow the world's mega-rich with dazzling light displays'" (Press, 7/11/19, "'Shooting Star' Shows Get Space Agency Approval", Tom Pullar-Strecker).

After all, why should the "mega-rich" have to wait for the universe to supply them with shooting stars, when they can buy their own cosmic light show? Rocket Lab is happy to play its profitable part in pandering to their whims. So, Rocket Lab is working for the one-percenters who, literally, have money to burn. There was speculation that the satellite was scheduled to put on a celestial light show over the opening ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (which have been postponed to 2021, due to the pandemic). But this monumental hubris came to nought when the satellite malfunctioned and couldn't release its' "shooting stars". Cry me a river.

From the outset, in 2006, Rocket Lab has been treated with kid gloves by a mainstream media bedazzled by stardust. "Little old New Zealand goes into space" has been the predominant theme, ignoring the inconvenient reality that Rocket Lab is an American company, with the world's biggest weapons manufacturer (Lockheed Martin) as its' main owner, and that it uses "nuclear free, out of ANZUS" New Zealand to continually launch payloads for US military and spy agency clients.

"We're About Science, We're Not About Killing People" Yeah, Right

2020 saw a slightly more critical approach taken, in at least one mainstream feature (Press, 28/7/20, "Rocket Lab Defends Spy Role"). "In a 2008 profile published in Metro magazine, (Chief Executive Officer and founder) Peter Beck ruled out military work when discussing if there were payloads Rocket Lab wouldn't carry".

"'Of course, ... we said right from the beginning if it's involved in the military, we don't want anything to do with it. The military can be quite a tempting cherry because a lot of money gets poured into it, but we're about science, we're not about killing people', Beck is quoted as saying. His views have evolved, and he now believes military intelligence helps keep Kiwis safe".

"...Beck had a very different reply from 2008 when asked if he had any qualms about sending US spy satellites into space, given the intelligence they collect can be used in military operations. 'You also have to remember that intelligence keeps us safe. Unfortunately, there's a lot of bad actors in the world. I am a New Zealander, but you also have to understand that national security is a global thing. It's not a singular country's responsibility. New Zealand is part of the Five Eyes... it's all very well to criticise national security until the very day that you need it'".

That same feature interviewed fellow founder Mark Rocket (who, as a true enthusiast, had changed his name by deed poll). He left Rocket Lab in 2011. "So, why did he leave? 'Initially we were hoping not to do ... certain types of projects," he said. 'There were a few projects that I wasn't so keen on'. It was difficult to find customers in those early years, he said. 'In the end we had to kind of move towards different areas, which wasn't part of the original plan'". 'I'd rather not say, but initially we were aiming for more commercial applications. But the reality is ... it made sense for Rocket Lab to do some stepping stone projects. And that's gone on to work incredibly well for Rocket Lab'. Rocket said it made perfect business sense for the company to work on a range of projects. 'But I wasn't passionate about that, I was passionate about the commercial side. You've got to sort of work out where that line is for you'".

War Fighting Capabilities

Rocket Lab is looking forward to getting ever further enmeshed in the US military's war fighting capabilities in 2021. It will be launching a "Gunsmoke-J cubesat technology demonstration mission" for the US Army's Space and Missile Defense Command in the first quarter of the year. The US company responsible for the actual deployment of the satellite from Rocket Lab's rocket says it "will have a huge impact on milestone developments in war fighter capabilities on the battlefield and beyond" (Satellite Today, 22/10/20).

Ollie Neas, the NZ investigative journalist, told me: "It appears this satellite has a more explicit warfighting focus than previous "R & D" (research and development) payloads". If "war fighting" is not about killing people, I don't know what is. Peter Beck says one thing to placate the mugs in NZ and does quite another to profit from his military and intelligence clients.

Moon Mining?

In addition to the work for the US military and spy agencies, other opportunities could present themselves for Rocket Lab. The Press (27/12/19) ran a fascinating article with the alarming headline "Moon Mining: The New 'Wild West'". It detailed the drive by various states and private companies to work towards mining the Moon and asteroids for minerals. It quoted Dr Anna Marie Brennan, a Waikato University senior law lecturer.

"Brennan said there were also opportunities for New Zealand, which was an attractive place for a launch pad because its geographical location meant there was less air traffic for rockets to contend with. 'It would be a lot easier to launch missions from New Zealand, so I think New Zealand has, in the future, a great opportunity here to capitalise on this. But, again, there needs to be an open discussion and debate about the extent to which New Zealand wants to engage in the space race'". Nor is Rocket Lab stopping at the Moon. In November 2020 it announced that, in 2023, it will send a rocket on a 160-day mission to Venus, where it will release a spacecraft that will, in turn, drop a probe to the planet's surface, to see if there are any signs of life there or in its atmosphere.

Because of its geographical location, New Zealand is proving attractive for other space industry companies. "American company LeoLabs has built a radar in Otago to detect small orbital debris, along with other radars in Texas and Alaska, and soon in Costa Rica" (Press, 14/9/20, "NZ's Pole Position In Space". LeoLab's customers include the US Air Force. Leo = Low Earth Orbit).

NZ Military Busting To Get Involved In US Space Warfare

New Zealand's increasing involvement in the American use of space for spying and warfighting does not only involve Rocket Lab (which is a private and foreign company). The New Zealand State is officially involved. The Spinoff published a fascinating article by Ollie Neas entitled "Revealed: New Zealand's Role In The New American War-Fighting Frontier - Space" (14/1/20).

This detailed how the NZ military has, in recent years, become involved in an annual US military war game set in space. NZ is getting progressively involved with the US Combined Forces Command and its' Combined Space Operations Center. This was formalised at an October 2015 meeting in Wellington of Five Eyes officials (the US, UK, Canada, Australia and NZ electronic intelligence sharing agreement). The Combined Space Operations Center (CSpOC) was launched, in the US. NZ is yet to station any personnel at it and doesn't yet have its' own space operations centre.

"Completely Interoperable With US".

The article quotes independent NZ security expert, Paul Buchanan. "NZ Defence Force's partner countries are all headed into space. We have to understand that the NZDF, which is so wrapped up in US-led military security alliances - if not by name, certainly by fact - joins its partners in trying to do the same. The NZDF wants to be completely interoperable with the US".

"We're not encumbered by - how could I put it nicely - the political oversight of the military in the way that the other Anglophone nations are. The military pretty much decides where it's going to go over the next ten to 20 years. It's clearly decided that it wants to be a mini-me to the US Special Operations Command, at least in terms of the NZ Special Air Service (SAS) and the Americans are happy to accommodate them".

"In 2015 the NZDF's research and development wing, the Defence Technology Agency, began developing an experimental ground station as part of 'a command and control network', with other countries in partnership with the US Naval Postgraduate School... The station, located on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula north of Auckland was tested in 2016 with two cube satellites launched as part of a mission sponsored by the US National Reconnaissance Office" (one of Rocket Lab's clients).

The article details other NZDF links to the US military's use of space. For example: "New Zealand also has ground stations in Auckland and (RNZAF base) Ohakea to support the NZDF's use of the Wideband Global Satellite system - a US military communications network to which New Zealand purchased access in 2012".

And then, of course, there is Rocket Lab. "'The (Air Force) has a close working relationship with Rocket Lab and we have a few staff revolving through their projects, particularly in the avionics area', the Chief of the Air Force told Line of Defence magazine in 2018. 'We offer Rocket Lab access to our facilities and I see some really exciting possibilities here'".

But the NZDF wants to develop the capability to launch satellite payloads itself, including US military ones. A heavily redacted 2018 briefing paper to Winston Peters, the then Minister for Foreign Affairs, said: "New Zealand government endorsement of these payloads represents a tangible contribution to the broader Five Eyes intelligence network, a network from which we are primarily a recipient".

The article quotes a 2017 briefing to the Minister for Economic Development (who was then Simon Bridges): "The Defence Act allows a foreign force to undertake operational activities in New Zealand, where permission has been granted and activities comply with domestic law and our international obligations. Therefore, a foreign military in New Zealand to launch an Earth observation satellite and use the imagery to contribute to joint counter-proliferation efforts could be exempt, providing permission has been granted".

The reference to "exempt" refers to the Government's 2019 guidelines which rule out launches from NZ "with the intended end use of supporting or enabling specific defence, security or intelligence operations that are contrary to Government policy". But "both the NZDF and friendly foreign militaries are exempt from NZ's launch approval regime".

Paul Buchanan has the last say in the Spinoff article. "Buchanan says a lack of public debate is the main problem with NZ's integration into US military space activities. 'Once again, on a matter of national security of some importance, the public is basically left in the dark. In fact, the politicians by and large are left in the dark. We're having no debate about this in Parliament. We're allied for all intents and purposes with our Five Eyes partners across a range of intelligence gathering and war related things'".

"'Where do we want to go with this? Do we use our participation in space activity as a substitute for participation in ground deployments by our troops? Is that a trade-off that we could actually negotiate? Or are we now involved in space but we're still going to be doing the bidding of the United States and the Australians when it comes to foreign conflicts?'".

NZ Is An Accomplice

Rocket Lab, as an NZ base of the US military and intelligence agencies, is dragging this country into the American militarisation of space, at an ever-increasing rate. It is the most high-profile NZ manifestation of this but it is not alone, being joined by the Government (whether headed by either National or Labour) and the NZ military, backed by a cheerleading mainstream media and a total absence of public discussion on this subject and where it fits into NZ's broader foreign policy, military and intelligence ties. It makes NZ an accomplice, willingly or unknowingly, in imperialist warmongering. To borrow the catchphrase from an old TV commercial - we're soaking in it. T


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