LSE:QQ 17 September 2025 - 19 January 2026

Belgium’s journey in space began in the 1960s, making it one of the earliest European nations involved in space endeavors Belgium. In 1962 the government formed Belgospace, an industry-academia forum to coordinate Belgium’s participation in Europe’s first space organizations Switchtospace. Belgium became a founding member of ESA in 1975 and embraced a multilateral approach – recognizing that pooling resources was the way for a small country to achieve big goals in space Belgium. Over decades, Belgium honed specific strengths rather than trying to do everything. Early on, Belgian firms contributed equipment to ESA’s first satellites and launchers. By the 1980s and 90s, Belgium was a key player in Ariane rocket development and in European science missions. A proud moment came in 1992 when Dirk Frimout became the first Belgian in space as a NASA Shuttle payload specialist. He was followed by Frank De Winne, who flew to the International Space Station twice and even commanded the ISS in 2009 – a testament to Belgium’s growing role Discoveringbelgium Discoveringbelgium. These human spaceflight milestones boosted public interest and underscored the nation’s capabilities. Belgium also invested in national micro-satellites: the PROBA series were innovative small satellites built by Verhaert in Flanders. Proba-1 tested