Astronaut Dan Barry reckons he knows New Zealand pretty well even though he’s never been here.

When it comes to research and development, NASA and DARPA are encouraging organisations to reach for the stars. Or at least, work out how to get there.

[UPDATE: Late Monday, the flight was deemed a success, but Atea-1 had yet to be located after splash-down. The search had been expected to take a couple of days. If all goes well, technical director Peter Beck said he hopes for Rocket Lab to stage its first commercial launch "early in the New Year"]

Just (cough) half a century after it began, New Zealand has entered the space race.