Norwegian-Dutch Nanosatellites Successfully Launched
Stay informed with our
free newsletters

This news is classified in: Aerospace Communications Space

Jan 3, 2023

Norwegian-Dutch Nanosatellites Successfully Launched

Two Norwegian-Dutch nanosatellites were successfully launched today. “Birkeland” and “Huygens” were placed in orbit around the earth by the company SpaceX. MilSpace2 is a cooperation project between the Netherlands Ministry of Defence, the Norwegian Ministry of Defence, the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI), the Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR) and the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO).

Defence Vision 2035 states that space has become a crucial link in the information-driven operations of the armed forces. The defence organisation is very dependent on satellites, for example for navigation and communication systems.

This is the second time that the Netherlands Ministry of Defence has launched satellites. It is therefore implementing Defence Vision 2035.

Small Satellites - Market and Technology Forecast to 2029

Small Satellites - Market and Technology Forecast to 2029

Market forecasts by Region, by Technology, Application, Platform, Launch Type, and by End-User. Technology and Market Overview, Market and opportunity Analysis, and Leading Companies

Download free sample pages More information

The satellites, each of which is not much larger than six one-litre cartons of milk, each measuring approximately 30x20x10 cm, are named after Norwegian physicist Kristian Olaf Birkeland and the Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens.

MilSpace
Strategic mutual assistance in research and technology (SMART), military use of space (MilSpace) and cooperation in science and technology are elements of the bilateral agreement between the ministries of defence of the Netherlands and Norway.

The project team that is acting on behalf of the two ministries consists of the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI), the Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR) and the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO).


NLR - Netherlands Aerospace Centre
View original News release

Digital Engineering for Defense Summit 2024

Digital Engineering for Defense Summit 2024

National Harbor, MD
Jun 26 - 27, 2024

View agenda
SmallSat & Space Access Summit 2024

SmallSat & Space Access Summit 2024

National Harbor, MD
Jun 5 - 6, 2024

View agenda