New Dutch National Agenda for Space
Recently, SpaceNed chair Jeroen Rotteveel presented the Dutch National Agenda for Space to Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Stef Blok. This new agenda is the result of work by the collective Dutch space sector, in an attempt to bring space, and the benefits of space, more clearly onto the political agenda.
Many people think of space just as rocket launches and the discovery of new planets. This is all true and interesting, but what is equally true and relevant is that space technology is an ‘enabling technology’ with endless possibilities for applications in other sectors. SpaceNed chair Jeroen Rotteveel, together with Rob Postma, Amal Tourabi, and Esther Peters presented the National Agenda for Space to Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Stef Blok.
Applications of space technology and data have a major impact on society. Think of navigation, telecommunication and earth observation (including climate monitoring) by means of satellites, on which we depend more every day than we realise. Applications that can have an even greater impact and solve social and economic challenges. Think of water reuse, detecting leaks in pipelines, safe autonomous transport, innovations in healthcare.
Making space more down to earth is perhaps the greatest task for us as a space sector. We need to work together even more effectively, make connections with other sectors and increase entrepreneurship. As Dot Space Foundation, we are proud to contribute to this.
Netherlands Space Office (NSO) Director Harm van de Wetering emphasised the importance of this agenda for the development of the Dutch space sector and its impact on other sectors.
Besides the fact that ESA-ESTEC in based in Noordwijk (2,600 high tech professionals, the largest space R&D centre in Europe, 100,000 business visitors per year), in addition to the Space Business Innovation Centre and the Galileo Reference Centre (GRC), that clusters, monitors and researches all navigation data, we have a solid Dutch scientific position and unique skills and talents. Not just at NL Space Campus in Noordwijk, but also concentrated in the larger Province of South Holland and indeed the entire country.
The universities of Leiden, Delft and Erasmus (LDE universities) collaborate to strengthen interdisciplinary skills and increase entrepreneurship in space and beyond: from knowledge to application and from research to business.
We must retain this position and continue to develop the ecosystem. Let us really join forces and ensure even more innovative solutions and thus also more impact on social issues. This requires a strong long-term vision from the Netherlands. This new National Space Agenda describes this vision in detail. We are looking forward to seeing this vision reflected in Dutch national policies and programmes soon!
You can download the report from our website here, or by clicking below image (in Dutch).