Peter Beck has put New Zealand's space sector not only on the international stage, but the interstellar stage.
After almost 50 space missions, and more than 150 satellite launches into orbit, the man behind Rocket Lab is now a Sir.
"For as long as I can remember as a kid, my dream was always to go and work for a company or an organisation like NASA," Beck said.
Full list: King's Birthday Honours 2024
Instead, he founded his own company which carries payloads for NASA and other space-savvy customers, pioneering an industry that was previously non-existent in New Zealand.
From entrepreneurs who've paved the way for women in the boardroom, to a Kiwi with his sights set on flying to Mars, some of our best are now dames and sirs. (Source: 1News)
Today, New Zealand's growing space industry is worth $1.69 billion, and Rocket Lab is one of the most prolific commercial space launch providers in the world – up there with companies such as Elon Musk's SpaceX.
"We've got two spacecraft going to Mars later on in the year and we get to work on and build some of the most amazing projects," he said.
"I really see this recognition as not just for me – it's like all the engineers and scientists in both the New Zealand space industry and the entrepreneurial network of New Zealand."
Speaking of entrepreneurs, one of the country's most philanthropic leaders, Theresa Gattung, is becoming a Dame.
The former Telecom boss co-founded the Gattung Foundation to support causes across education, animal welfare, and poverty. She was the driving force behind Coralus (formerly SheEO) in New Zealand, a global community of women financing, supporting. and celebrating female innovators.
"I've actually been giving money to women's charities since my first paycheque in my early twenties," she said.
"I've always realised that women don't start off on an equal footing."
Another prominent female leader, Joan Withers, is also becoming a Dame.
She's been a director and chairwoman of numerous private and state sector companies.
This includes chairing The Warehouse Group since 2016, Mighty River Power (later Mercury), Auckland International Airport, and TVNZ.
"[We're] seeing the evolution of more and more women sitting around the board table – many boards now have 50% of the board members being women. We've come a long way," Gattung said.
The other top honour goes to Professor Peter Hunter, who is an expert in bio-engineering research, and specialises in the computer modelling of human organs.
He's now a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
Hunter established and has led the Physiome Project, an international collaborative project to measure and mathematically model all aspects of physiology in the human body.
He established the Auckland Bioengineering Institute in 2001, and has served as its director since its inception.
More tonight on 1News at Six.
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