Confidential payload aboard Rocket Lab's sixth orbital mission
Tuesday, 18 June 2019
Does the public have the right to know what satellites are put into space from New Zealand by Rocket Lab, or is it enough to know that any satellite launched from here will need to have been vetted and approved by the Government?
That question is about to be put to the test, with Rocket Lab declining to provide information on one of the seven satellites it will put into space on its six orbital launch from the Māhia Peninsula, during a launch window that opens on Thursday week.
The Electron rocket will carry a commercial imaging satellite, a cube satellite designed by Melbourne University engineering students, and two small 'Prometheus' satellites owned by the United States Special Operations Command which are part of a reconnaissance research programme.
But Rocket Lab, which is now headquartered in the US, is staying mum on one of its payloads, saying that customer wants to keep its identity confidential for reasons of 'commercial sensitivity'.
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Spokeswoman Murielle Baker noted that all the payloads it launched from New Zealand had to be approved by the Government, with Economic Development Minister David Parker currently responsible for the final sign-off.
'It's common for companies to keep their mission confidential in a highly competitive small satellite market,' she said.
What is less clear is whether the Government might have an obligation to release the information, over any objections from satellite owners.
Peter Crabtree, head of the New Zealand Space Agency, which is part of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, said it needed to release information on payloads 'where appropriate'.
But he noted the Official Information Act could allow the ministry to withhold information on grounds such as commercial sensitivity or national security, in some circumstances.
'All payload applicants are required to declare the mission and purpose of their payloads. Full disclosure to the Government is required and this is non-negotiable,' he said.
'In some cases we are unable to disclose this information publicly because of commercial sensitivities, because it has been entrusted to us in confidence, or because of matters related to a national security assessment.'
Under the terms of the OIA, the ministry would need to balance the justification for any secrecy against the public interest in disclosure, and provide the grounds on which it declined to provide information – for example whether it was because of commercial sensitivity or national security – with any appeals going to the Ombudsman.
Stuff has submitted a request for details of the seventh satellite, which the ministry is now processing.
Rocket Lab founder Peter Beck said last month that the Government had not withheld launch permissions for any Rocket Lab payloads to date.
It is an open question whether the public would find out, were it to do so in future, with the ministry saying the obligation to disclose that information would also be subject to the balances in the OIA.
Beck said last month that as well as payload owners having to meet the 'really robust' tests enshrined in legislation for satellite approvals, Rocket Lab had its own internal commitment as 'to what we are happy to fly and not happy to fly'.
The legislation requires the responsible minister for launch licences to determine whether they are in the national interest, taking into account 'national security, economic and other relevant considerations'.
'All of the defence payloads we have launched to date are all 'R&D' payloads that have dual-use applications,' Beck said.
'We will never fly weapons or anything that really isn't committed to the safe and secure and responsible use of space. We are not going to do anything that doesn't align with our core values.'