Kiwi space company Rocket Lab has signed an agreement to launch 10 rockets Japanese company Synspective.
The deal - announced in Tokyo - is the largest single launch agreement in the company's history and was signed during Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's trade mission.
Rocket Lab founder and CEO Sir Peter Beck said it was a "big day" for collective space economies.
The deal will see Rocket Lab launch 10 rockets into space from New Zealand for Synspective which will carry satellites that can take exact images of the Earth's surface.
"Japan's space industry is one of the fastest growing globally and we're excited to be enabling this growth through the unique collaboration of a US rocket and a New Zealand launch site, delivering an unprecedented level of tailored access to orbit for Japanese small satellites," said Beck.
Rocket Lab has been launching for Synspective since 2020 when the company launched a synthetic aperture radar constellation which captures images which can detect millimeter-level changes to the Earth's surface from space.
Luxon said Kiwi space innovation was "rapidly putting our country on the map in this fast-growing industry".
"It is awesome to see the collaboration between Japan and New Zealand in the area of space."
