Work has begun on the first commercial rocket launch site in New Zealand and it's had a change of location from the South Island.
The remote Mahia Peninsula, near Gisborne, is to become the Kiwi Cape Canaveral and the first two years of flights have already been booked.
Mahia is beautiful, but more importantly it's remote, and that's what's brought Rocket Lab to Mahia.
"We can launch every month or more out of the Mahia site," Rocket Lab chief executive Peter Beck says. "The beauty of its remoteness is that we don't interrupt any air activity of marine traffic, so we would achieve a lot out of that site."
Consents have been issued and work has started on building a launch pad.
The preferred site was at Birdlings Flat near Christchurch, but red tape has forced a change.
"Resource consent process takes as long as it takes and we are continue to work down there to get resource consent, but we managed to get Mahia finished first," Mr Beck says.
Rocket Lab is developing the Electron Rocket to deliver small satellites into orbit at a small cost.
Test flights, first scheduled for early next year, will now lift off in June. If successful, commercial flights start in 2017.
Among those contracts is a shot at helping a lander get to the moon, and a deal with NASA to use their launch sites.
"I have always dreamed of working for NASA and now they are a customer, so that's a good result," Mr Beck says.
Local iwi who own the launch site on Onenui Station have struck a deal with Rocket Lab and the region is full of hope.
"It's going to mean a lot of stuff for Gisborne because we hope to be the service centre for it," Gisborne Mayor Meng Foon says. "We have the closest airport [and] we have a lot of land for development."
The site has to be built and the first rocket tested, but Mr Beck believes the reputation has already been made.
"I think New Zealand is starting to become recognised as a space nation now."
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