When the Apollo missions to the moon filled the airwaves during the 1960s, few would have thought a tiny country at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean might one day become an important player in the space industry.
The recent successful launch of Rocket Lab's second 17-metre Electron rocket, Still Testing, from its Mahia Peninsula launching pad, is confirmation New Zealand is part of what used to be known as the ''space race''.
On reaching orbit, the rocket deployed into different orbits several small satellites for customers. Its payload also included the now-controversial Humanity Star, a 65-panel, 1m-wide carbon-fibre geodesic sphere which has been compared to a disco ball and has divided opinion in the scientific world as either a ''talking point'' or a ''cheesy stunt''.
Rocket launches always get the pulse racing, even when watching last week's takeoff on a small screen via the internet. They are exciting and, despite major technological advances, still have an element of danger and risk about them.
Rocket Lab's launches also have a wonderfully New Zealand twist to them - from the brown-grassed cliffs, the shimmering sea in the background and the rocket powering into a blue summer sky, to the noticeably Kiwi twang of the announcer when the countdown descends through ''seven'' and then ''six'' seconds to liftoff.
Ask many if they consider New Zealand a force to be reckoned with in the world of space and they will probably say no. Yet this country has a long and proud history in space exploration and astronomical research.
Space scientist Sir Ian Axford, cosmologist and galaxy expert Beatrice Tinsley, rocket scientist and Nasa luminary William Pickering, and mathematician Prof Roy Kerr, who discovered an exact solution to the Einstein field equation of general relativity describing the rotation of black holes - not household names, perhaps, but these Kiwis are highly respected internationally.
New Zealand's isolation and its lack of both atmospheric pollution and light pollution make it attractive for astronomical research. Its skies are comparatively dark.
In recent winters, Nasa's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy - Sofia - has used Christchurch as its base for just those reasons. The flying telescope, actually a modified Boeing 747SP, has flown many missions around the South Island and further south to study star formation in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds and observe objects in the Kuiper Belt.
Further proof of New Zealand's space pedigree is the Alexandra-based Centre for Space Science Technology (CSST), touted to become the nation's space-information hub, allowing access to satellite data and supporting and developing products based on that for regional industries.
And a little further north there is the 4300-square kilometre Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve, created in June 2012 and centred on Tekapo and the Mt John University Observatory. This is a major drawcard for tourists and the only one of its kind in the southern hemisphere.
Rocket Lab chief executive Peter Beck is one of those inspirational New Zealanders who look at things differently and see opportunities where others might not. Perhaps it is no surprise he thought a sunlight-reflecting Humanity Star in Earth's lower orbit would be a good idea.
Mr Beck is aware he has upset some scientists, who believe the sphere may interfere with their tracking of other celestial bodies. But he says he carefully calculated its orbit to ensure it would not do that. The object is only expected to last nine months before burning up.
Firing a gimmicky object into space seems a little frivolous - there are already more than 4500 satellites in orbit.
Space should be protected at all costs. Humankind has already done enough damage to Earth.
