Belgium’s Space Boom: From Small Nation to Satellite Powerhouse
Key Facts at a Glance Historical Evolution: From Early Collaborator to ESA Pillar Belgium’s journey in space began in the 1960s, making it one of the earliest European nations involved in space endeavors diplomatie.belgium.be. In 1962 the government formed Belgospace, an industry-academia forum to coordinate Belgium’s participation in Europe’s first space organizations (ELDO for launchers and ESRO for science satellites) switchtospace.org. 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 diplomatie.belgium.be. Over decades, Belgium honed specific strengths