clipped from www.stuff.co.nz

Designers of a venture to launch New Zealand rockets into space believe Kiwi ingenuity will ensure costs are kept under control.

A desire by Rocket Lab lead designer Peter Beck to devise New Zealand-made hardware for the project has been supported by $99,000 from a government agency.

From September next year, Rocket Lab plans to send six rockets more than 150 kilometres above Earth for research into micro-gravity, solar physics and climate change. The cost was estimated at between $50,000 and $100,000, depending on the type of experiment and how high the rockets would go from their South Island launch pad.

The foundation's sector business manager, Tom McLeod, said the project had the potential to lure sections of the international space industry to New Zealand and broaden scientific horizons.

The company's commitment to New Zealand would also prove beneficial, he said.