A US spy satellite just launched from NZ. Here's what you need to know

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The controversial mission, ‘Birds of a Feather’, is the first launch for a US spy agency from NZ. Ollie Neas explains what we know – and even more importantly, what we don’t. 

Last May, The Spinoff reported that New Zealand Space Agency staff had met with officials from a major US intelligence agency, the National Reconnaissance Office or NRO.

The outcome of those discussions is now clear: Rocket Lab’s first launch of 2020 is of a classified NRO satellite – and it took off from the Mahia Peninsula yesterday afternoon.

The mission, which follows a series of launches for US military agencies last year, is both the first launch for a US spy agency from NZ and the first dedicated launch for the NRO from outside the US.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the mission has not been without controversy, with the Green Party voicing concerns in light of the Trump Administration’s recent aggression in the Middle East.

But should we be concerned? What actually is being launched? And why is a spy satellite being launched from NZ in the first place? Here’s what you need to know.