CometLab officially opened at NL Space Campus

On 7 October 2025, the Dutch space sector celebrated a major milestone with the festive opening of CometLab at NL Space Campus in Noordwijk. The new facility marks the start of a vibrant collaboration hub where companies, researchers, engineers, and students come together to accelerate innovation in space technology. 

A festive opening ceremony 

The grand opening of CometLab was a festive event that had already created a buzz well before the doors officially opened. From the groundbreaking ceremony with astronauts a year ago to today’s milestone in the midst of NL Space Week, CometLab has consistently drawn attention from the space community and beyond. National and local media, including BNR Radio, RTL Nieuws, Leidsch Dagblad and the Sterrenstof podcast, reported on the project, highlighting its promise and significance for the Dutch and European space ecosystem. 

The celebration itself had a lively and welcoming atmosphere, featuring bites and drinks, as well as an AI robot greeting guests at the entrance. On the first floor of CometLab, the innovative companies located on the NL Space Campus, including Stellar Space Industries, Dunedain Space, Wfront, Solid Flow, Soilspect, Lens R&D, and ESA Gravity Assist, showcased their technologies and innovations, providing visitors with a firsthand glimpse of the creativity and ambition driving the Dutch space ecosystem right there on campus. 

The event officially opened with a series of keynote speeches, introduced and moderated by Annemarie Bruning, where leaders from government, academia, and industry highlighted the significance of CometLab for the Netherlands and Europe. 

Hanna Kržič, the initiator and architect of CometLab, has been a part of ESA’s Advanced Concepts Team for many years. She explained how the idea originated within that context, was further developed over several years, and was eventually realised through close cooperation with the NL Space Campus. “Five years ago, we began collaborating with NL Space Campus, which greatly assisted us in bringing this building to reality, thanks to the support of the Province of South Holland. It started as a small idea that eventually grew into this big endeavour, a collaboration project strengthening the space community.” 

Paul Veger, Founder and Executive Chairman of Decos and chair of the foundation that built the CometLab, described its mission clearly: “The companies, startups, students, scientists, and people from ESTEC are all welcome here. They can work together, meet like-minded innovators, and collaborate on projects. It’s about curiosity, connections, creations – learning by doing. Groups of students who participate in a workshop and create something take their first step into the future of the space economy.”  

For Noordwijk, the opening is a new catalyst. Pim van Strien, Alderman of the Municipality, emphasised: “Noordwijk is the centre of European space; you need something to catalyse the development and the innovation, and that’s what CometLab is going to do.” 

From a provincial perspective, Meindert Stolk, Regional Minister for Economy & Innovation of the Province of Zuid-Holland, highlighted how CometLab strengthens the broader ecosystem: “It’s strengthening the character of the Space Campus. A campus connects companies, students, and knowledge institutes, bringing people together, which is a real boost for the innovation we need in this area and in aerospace technology.” 

The importance of collaboration resonated with Dietmar Pilz, Director of Technology, Engineering and Quality (D/TEC) and head of the ESTEC establishment at ESA: “This year we’re celebrating 50 years of ESA. Our long-term vision of ESTEC is one where it’s important to be part of a larger community here in Noordwijk, part of a large international campus where we can collaborate and work together. We need the people here, we need the inspiration, and we need the input of out-of-the-box thinkers so that in the future, we are ready for the next 50 years. We need exactly this collaboration – and this CometLab.” 

Astronaut André Kuipers then pointed out CometLab’s value for the next generation: “This is a fantastic place where young people from diverse disciplines and nationalities work together as a community, alongside other activities on the Space Campus and with ESTEC. A great place to start things, this is the place to be.” 

A leap forward for the Dutch space economy 

The opening of CometLab marks a unique moment for the Netherlands: for the first time, the country has a laboratory entirely dedicated to space innovation, creating the opportunity to take a leading role in the emerging international space economy. 

Space is increasingly becoming a vital part of critical infrastructure: indispensable for our security, climate monitoring, communication, and essential services such as positioning and timing. With CometLab, NL Space Campus will create new opportunities to strengthen the societal and economic resilience of both the Netherlands and Europe.  

 Thanks to advanced design tools, space hardware, and open-source technologies, CometLab will become a driver of collaboration, innovation, and development. “Whether it’s optical instruments, telescopes, antennas for ground stations, or satellite prototypes, CometLab offers innovators of all kinds the facilities to study, explore, and build,” says chairman and entrepreneur Paul Veger. 

 Among the first users are ESA Phi-Lab Netherlands and Wfront Principle, where ambitious researchers are working on groundbreaking technologies. CometLab also provides space for events. With support from the Province of South Holland and the European Space Agency, CometLab is the result of a collaboration between industry and government. “The Netherlands is once again showing its strengths: organising, structuring, and facilitating,” says Veger. 

A unique opportunity for the Netherlands 

“The Netherlands has often secured strong positions internationally – think of water management, our chip industry, or the Amsterdam Internet Exchange. Today offers a once-in-a-lifetime chance to do the same in space. CometLab is not an endpoint, but a launch platform.” 

Around the lab, NL Space Campus expects to grow further. Veger adds: “The CometLab is surrounded by fertile ground, giving an enormous boost to the ambitions of the Noordwijk region – and the Netherlands as a whole – in the field of space innovation.”