New Zealand Aerospace Summit Gets Underway
Ōtautahi Christchurch, New Zealand — September 23, 2024 - Today, the New Zealand Aerospace Summit is being held at the Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre involving more than 650 participants and hundreds of companies from around the globe.
The theme of this year’s summit is Aerospace For Good and includes panels on Aerospace Technology and Data, Helping to Meet our Climate Goals and Championing Aerospace for Good.
Kiwi aerospace companies provide core services that we use in our day-to-day lives, and today is an important opportunity to consider how we grow this high-value sector sustainably and with the next generation in mind. Aviation is key in connecting people, and we use satellites to predict weather, track climate change, help with disaster relief, plan cities, and manage air traffic.
The space sector alone is predicted to be worth NZ$1.69 billion to the New Zealand economy (Deloitte, 2019) and has the potential to grow further, creating high-wage jobs and capability into the future. There are many New Zealand-based companies involved in some aspect of space and advanced-aviation innovation, and 12,000 Kiwis work supporting the sector.
Any emerging industry and innovation has implications for the wider community and this Summit seeks to create a space for those to be discussed.
We are aware protestors are planning to demonstrate outside the event and they have been provided with a designated space to make their voices heard. We met with the protest organisers on September 13th and made clear our expectation that protestors act respectfully and not take action that impacts the comfort of our attending professionals, teachers and school students.
Like many technologies – for example phones, internet and even electricity – aerospace-related-services are a utility that can be utilised in times of conflict. We acknowledge protestors' questions around aerospace-enabled technologies being utilised for military purposes, but we do not believe aiming to disrupt the sector’s opportunity to meet is a helpful or responsible approach.
The Summit organisers expect that all companies engaged in space based activities will meet the obligations and expectations of the New Zealand government’s policies and regulations. As part of the licencing programme for New Zealand spacecraft, the NZ Space Agency is responsible for ensuring the missions are aligned with New Zealand’s interests.
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About the Summit:
The Summit is organised by Aerospace New Zealand, a not-for-profit focused on fostering innovation and high-tech jobs. In addition to the Summit, Aerospace New Zealand organises MeetUps, mentoring programmes, Startups and STEM education for students.
Aerospace related services enable:
· Communication: Global phone and internet services.
· Navigation: GPS for travel and mapping.
· Weather Forecasting: Monitoring weather patterns.
· Television Broadcasting: Satellite TV access.
· Research: Data collection for climate and space studies.
· Surveillance: Earth observation for agriculture, security and urban planning.
· Disaster Management: Tracking natural disasters.
· Remote Sensing: Supporting agriculture and land use.
· Financial Transactions: Enabling banking operations.
· Space Exploration: Studying other planets and celestial bodies.
Media Contact:
Catherine Moreau Hammond
Enquiries@aerospace.org.nz
021359354