Auditor-General must investigate $29m satellite lost in space

The organisation behind the failed $29 million MethaneSAT mission should not be allowed to review its own performance, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson, Ella Dickson, says:

“When $29 million of taxpayer funding is literally lost in space, taxpayers deserve a genuinely independent investigation. The Environmental Defense Fund cannot credibly review its own failure.”

“Reports that serious technical concerns were not communicated before launch raise questions about what officials knew, what due diligence was carried out, and why taxpayers were exposed to such a high-risk project.”

“The Auditor-General, Grant Taylor, must establish what went wrong, whether the risks were properly disclosed, and who is accountable for this loss.”