The international position of the Netherlands in space travel is under pressure and needs new impetus. The turnover of this sector must also triple. This requires a joining of forces between government, companies and science, for example between civil and military applications. This also means that government investments must structurally increase by €60 million per year. These and other goals are included in the long-term space agenda presented today.
The agenda is widely supported by five involved ministries (Economic Affairs and Climate; Defense; Infrastructure and Water Management; Foreign Affairs; Education, Culture and Science) and has been drawn up with the business community, science and various regions by a committee led by Maria van der Hoeven. After being presented by Minister Micky Adriaansens (EZK), the agenda was sent to the House of Representatives.
Space technology and satellite data are increasingly indispensable for (vital) infrastructure, climate, science and security. Investing in space is also essential for reducing strategic dependencies and provides jobs and income in the Netherlands.
The long-term space agenda includes six missions to improve the position of the Netherlands and bring it back to the level by 2035 at which other countries within and outside Europe have accelerated their investments in the sector. In order to achieve the missions, the Netherlands must comply with the three-yearly investment standards (mandatory and optional) of the European Space Agency (ESA) and make additional national investments in space.
Minister Micky Adriaansens (Economic Affairs and Climate):
The Netherlands now faces the question of whether we want to remain an important player in space travel for the next ten to fifteen years. As far as I'm concerned, the answer is: yes. After all, the technologies in this sector make a proven contribution to our infrastructure, safety, climate objectives and economy. This ambitious long-term space agenda is good advice for the (coming) government to make more efforts and investments.
The missions in the long-term space agenda
- security, military capacity in space and (co-)developing satellite communications, navigation and earth observation;
- climate, global leader in measuring emissions and use of satellite data for water and agriculture;
- science, develop high-quality space instruments for scientific breakthroughs, and ensure that this knowledge also goes to the market for non-space technology;
- data, governments and service providers make better use of satellite data;
- economic growth, sector turnover triples and better use of NL Space Campus;
- international agreements, promote additional UN agreements for the well-regulated use of space.
Currently, Dutch public space investments for European and national purposes amount to €522 million up to and including 2025. Space technology creates more than 10,000 jobs in the Netherlands.
