Country dossier · BEL

Belgium

Advanced space-faring nation

A sourced snapshot of Belgium's posture in space — capability, institutions, orbital assets, law and people. Every figure carries its primary source; gaps are shown honestly, never filled with invented data.

Open Belgium in the interactive workspace →

Capability tier

Advanced space-faring nation

Launches to orbit from its own territory: noLaunch sites on record: 0Nationals who have flown: 3

Source: ALL IN SPACE capability ladder · see methodology

Space agency

BELSPO

Other space institution · established 1960

Source: BELSPO · official site

Satellites (owner state)

10

Counted from the GCAT May 2026 snapshot. The interactive workspace shows a live CelesTrak figure, which uses different owner-attribution rules and will differ.

Source: GCAT · General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (J. McDowell) · May 2026 snapshot

Ground stations

8

Source: ALL IN SPACE curated ground-station dataset (operator-sourced)

Space budget

$136M

Emerging spender · 2024

Source: OECD · GBARD by socio-economic objective

National strategy

Belgian Federal Space Policy (Belspo) (2019)

Federal space policy structured around scientific research, social utility, industrial development and economic interest

Source: Published national space strategies and policies

International space law

InstrumentStatus
Outer Space Treaty 1967Ratified
Rescue Agreement 1968Ratified
Liability Convention 1972Ratified
Registration Convention 1975Ratified
Moon Agreement 1979Ratified
Artemis Accords 2020Signatory (2024-01-23)

Source: Status of international agreements relating to activities in outer space (1 January 2026)

Launch sites

No launch infrastructure on Belgian territory; major participation in ESA/Vega via SABCA and other industry.

Source: National launch site roster · ALL IN SPACE compilation

Astronauts

  • Dirk FrimoutESA / NASA · first flight 1992 · First Belgian in space
  • Frank De WinneESA · first flight 2002 · First European ISS commander (2009)
  • Raphael LiegeoisESA · first flight 2022 · Selected 2022; assigned to ISS 2026

Source: Astronaut biographies

Milestones

  • 1960BELSPO established
  • 1992First national in space

Notable missions and contributions

  • ESA founding member — BELSPO coordinates
  • Frank De Winne ISS Commander (2009); Dirk Frimout STS-45 (1992)
  • Proba satellite series (Proba-1, Proba-V, Proba-3)
  • Euro Space Center (Transinne) — public engagement
  • SCK-CEN radiation biology for spaceflight
  • Spacebel — space software for ESA missions