Country dossier · NLD

Netherlands

Leading space power

A sourced snapshot of Netherlands'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 Netherlands in the interactive workspace →

Capability tier

Leading space power

Launches to orbit from its own territory: noLaunch sites on record: 0Nationals who have flown: 2

Source: ALL IN SPACE capability ladder · see methodology

Space agency

NSO (Netherlands Space Office)

National space agency · established 2009

Source: UNOOSA · Worldwide Space Agencies directory

Satellites (owner state)

9

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

$149M

Emerging spender · 2025

Source: OECD · GBARD by socio-economic objective

National strategy

Langetermijn Ruimtevaartagenda / Nederlandse Ruimtevaartstrategie (2024)

Long-term space agenda toward 2035 across six missions in security, climate, science, satellite data, earning capacity and international frameworks

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 (2023-11-01)

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

Launch sites

No launch infrastructure on Dutch territory; aerospace work via TU Delft and Royal NLR (no national spaceport).

Source: National launch site roster · ALL IN SPACE compilation

Astronauts

  • Wubbo OckelsESA · first flight 1985 · First Dutch citizen in space
  • Andre KuipersESA · first flight 2004

Source: Astronaut biographies

Milestones

  • 1985First national in space
  • 2009NSO (Netherlands Space Office) established

Notable missions and contributions

  • ESA founding member — hosts ESTEC (Noordwijk)
  • SRON instruments: XMM-Newton, Herschel, JWST MIRI
  • Andre Kuipers — 2 ISS missions (2004, 2012)
  • Airbus Netherlands — satellite solar arrays
  • Copernicus Sentinel contributions
  • NWO/NOVA astronomical instrumentation