Delft, 18th of December 2024 – The Dutch Ministry of Defence and ISISPACE are joining forces to strengthen the operations and satellite mission capabilities of the Netherlands. The parties have signed a framework agreement for this collaboration this Monday, the 16th of December, in the Hague. Under this agreement, ISISPACE will develop, build, and launch satellites for armed forces. The first of several satellites will commence being designed and built in early 2025.
The signing of this agreement occurs after the success of BRIK-II, the first Dutch military nanosatellite, built and designed by ISISPACE as a technology demonstrator in answer to the evolving investments in the space program of the Dutch Defence domain.
The Minister of Defence, Ruben Brekelmans, stated: “Today, Defence has taken an important step in strengthening our national security and innovative strength. The collaboration with ISISPACE ensures that we improve the information position of our military personnel during missions and operations. In this way, we continue to build a resilient future.”
Jeroen Rotteveel, CEO of ISISPACE, said: “After our first collaboration in the development of the BRIK-II satellite, this collaboration is a major next step for our company and the Netherlands. By selecting us as the prime to deliver state-of-the-art satellite solutions within this framework agreement, the Ministry of Defence reinforces its trust in our experienced company. We are honoured to support the Netherlands with our satellite solutions to obtain its own military operational satellite capacity. At ISISPACE, we are committed to providing our wide range of small satellite solutions that positively impact our customers’ needs in the long term.”
Key stakeholder collaborations
The Defence Space Security Centre (DSSC) will supervise this project. The development of the new satellite capacity stems from the assignment in the Defence Memorandum 2022 to acquire operational satellite capacity. According to this, the Air Force will develop a small constellation of small satellites and various sensors.
Defence and ISISPACE will start developing the first new satellite early next year, planned to begin to be launched next year, followed by a multi-satellite operational satellite constellation.
The framework agreement also includes other partnerships, namely with Norway, among other international partners for satellite communication. Another cooperation agreement was recently signed with different Dutch companies to develop the PAMI-1 satellite. With all these collaborations, Defence is building a broad and robust basis for military space technology, both on Dutch soil and with international partners.
About ISISPACE
Based in Delft, ISISPACE has been developing, building, launching, and operating small satellites up to typically 50 kilograms since 2006. These satellites are developed worldwide for various customers; in addition to the commercial parties, also for the European Commission, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Dutch government. ISISPACE’s satellites are primarily used to demonstrate new technology, to perform climate measurements, and to collect information for Defence and security applications.