Luxembourg’s Space Boom: How a Tiny Country Became a Satellite Powerhouse
Key Facts: Luxembourg’s space ambitions began in the mid-1980s. In 1985 the government launched SES, Europe’s first private satellite operator ses.com. SES’s inaugural Astra 1A satellite was launched in 1988, opening up direct-to-home TV across Europe ses.com. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s SES expanded globally, acquiring U.S. satellites and building a fleet that today covers most of the Earth ses.com ses.com.