Satellites brighten the night sky – as a launch site, New Zealand has a duty to combat light pollution

This article was originally published on The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.

New Zealand's space sector has been developing rapidly since the first rocket was launched in 2017. The sector now generates revenues of around NZ$1.7 billion, with plans to grow to $10 billion by 2030.

Last year, New Zealand hosted seven rocket launches, all by the US-listed but locally-based company Rocket Lab. It was in response to Rocket Lab's initial proposal for a launch site that New Zealand spent less than two years developing a regulatory system from scratch to meet ...