What will the space year 2025 bring us? This topic was discussed during the NL Space Lift-Off gathering at Space Expo in Noordwijk on 30 January. The audience from the Dutch space sector reflected on the past year during the traditional New Year’s event hosted by industry association SpaceNed, Netherlands Space Office (NSO) and NL Space Campus. The focus was also on the future developments.
View news item on the NSO website
Surrounded by rocket engines, satellite models and impressive satellite data projections, the evening at Space Expo included a Q&A with NSO director Harm van de Wetering on the Long-Term Space Agenda, the development of the NL Space Campus, and the commercial opportunities that international space programmes offer Dutch businesses. Various guests took to the stage and the moderator for the evening was Alexandra Sokolowski.
The NSO director shared in his speech: “On a political level, we find ourselves at a crossroads. Our safety is no longer guaranteed. The competitiveness of the European Union is a growing concern. And there are the effects of climate change, which we will increasingly feel. What makes space essential is that it can make a meaningful contribution to addressing these challenges. It’s up to us to fully leverage the opportunities space offers.”
Strategic autonomy
Looking forward to the end of the year, the ESA Ministerial Conference will take place. During he event to be held in November 2025 in Germany, ESA member states will decide which programmes to invest in for the next 3 years. In parallel, the European Union is working on a new, more ambitious programme. This provides many opportunities for the Netherlands, especially in several important strategic areas. Space is not just about outer space itself; it is much more about safety and prosperity in our daily lives on Earth.
Also during 2025, the CGI – in collaboration with Defence, AIVD, IenW and NSO – is developing a prototype of a PRS receiver. This special receiver will allow access to the secure signal from Galileo navigation satellites, providing even more precise and reliable positioning. And that is crucial for our security, says Bas Van der Hoeven, CGI senior vice-president for Space, Transport & Logistics: “The key topic going forward is strategic autonomy for Europe. With this receiver, the Netherlands can make a significant contribution to that.”
Investing in ambition
It was 1 year ago, during the 2024 NL Space New Year’s event, that former Minister Maria van der Hoeven presented the Long-Term Space Agenda (LTSA). This outlines Dutch space ambitions for the next 10 to 15 years. The former minister previously shared hopes that we will see the first concrete developments of the LTSA this year: “What’s needed now? Concrete action. Making great plans is step one. Then you need to invest – both financially and in the people who can make our ambitions a reality.”
She finds an ally in Pim van Strien, former member of the Dutch House of Representatives and now the space councillor for the municipality of Noordwijk, who was interviewed on stage at this year’s event. He looks forward to the government’s response to the LTSA and the subsequent parliamentary debate: “Space is crucial for our security, communication, prosperity, strategic autonomy, and sustainable future. We must convince parliamentarians to support the ambitions of the LTSA with sufficient budget.”
News update: Dutch long-term space ambitions receive political support >>
A campus full of opportunities
During 2025, it is also expected to be a busy the year on the NL Space Campus, predicts the campus’ director, Marc Sandelowsky. He is particularly looking forward to the opening of the new Comet Lab building in October. In the Comet Lab, students, businesses and space experts will come together to work on our future in space and on Earth. They will do this, in part, at the ESA Phi-Lab, which helps bring promising concepts and technologies to the commercial space market. In 2022, NSO advised the government to invest in a Dutch Phi-Lab. Now, ESA Phi-Lab NL has been launched and the programme is jointly managed by NL Space Campus and SBIC Noordwijk. Marc comments: “The Phi-Lab will provide a strong boost to the commercialisation of promising space technologies in the Netherlands.”
The Phi-Lab is now one of three ESA commercialisation programmes located on the NL Space Campus. The campus is also home to the only Dutch ESA business incubator centre (ESA BIC Noordwijk), as well as the ESA Technology Broker for the Netherlands. Martijn Leinweber, COO of SBIC Noordwijk, notes: “Everything comes together at the NL Space Campus. This is the place where companies can capitalise on opportunities by developing space technologies or, conversely, by applying space technology in other sectors.”
Meet ESA BIC incubatees and Phi-Lab participants at SBIC Noordwijk >>
Save the date for the 2026 space symposium
Jeroen Rotteveel, chair of the SpaceNed industry association, took to the stage next. “If the Netherlands is to succeed in the global, rapidly growing commercial space market in the coming years, entrepreneurs and knowledge institutions must aim higher,” he said. “The Netherlands is extremely good at space, but we’re really bad at being proud of what we’re doing and showing it to the world.”
To showcase what the Dutch space ecosystem is capable of, SpaceNed is organising the Amsterdam Space Symposium on 3 and 4 March 2026. Special attention will be given to topics of security and climate. Registration will open this spring and around 1200 visitors from around the world are expected.
This is an edited version of the news item that appears on the NSO website.
Prepare your space business idea for lift off!
Find the ESA commercialisation programmes in the heart of the Dutch space ecosystem under one roof at SBIC Noordwijk.
