NL Space Campus thanks Franco Ongaro for his service and welcomes Torben Henriksen as new acting Head of ESTEC
After more than a decade of service as Head of ESA ESTEC and ESA Director of Technology, Engineering and Quality (D/TEC), Franco Ongaro had his final day last week. Torben Henriksen is his interim replacement.
NL Space Campus would like to thank Franco Ongaro for his drive, enthusiasm and collaborative vision that helped to make the campus development possible, forging links between ESA-ESTEC and space-oriented entrepreneurs with NL Space Campus and the wider space ecosystem. We warmly welcome the new Head of ESTEC and TEC Director and looking further to strengthen our collaboration with ESA-ESTEC in the oncoming period.
A surprise digital party gave NL Space Campus, along with NSO, the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate and SpaceNed, the opportunity to express our gratitude for Franco Ongaro’s years of service at ESA-ESTEC, the hub of Europe’s space efforts. The Commissioner of the King in South Holland, Jaap Smit, also thanked Franco Ongaro for his work, stressing how important ESA and ESTEC is for The Netherlands and the nation’s space and innovation sector.
NL Space Campus Director Esther Peter comments: “NL Space Campus is very grateful for the drive, enthusiasm and commitment that Franco Ongaro has shown to open up ESA-ESTEC and make connections with its neighbours, to stimulate entrepreneurship and make the NL Space Campus a success – with ESA-ESTEC its single most important knowledge carrier. Our current state of development is largely down to his support, including our good cooperation with the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Universities Alliance allowing us to jointly implement ideas during this last year.
“Last Friday NL Space Campus held a meeting with the new Head of ESTEC and TEC Director Torben Henriksen. He is enthusiastic about the ongoing collaboration between NL Space Campus and ESA-ESTEC and the development of the campus. We welcome his appointment and look forward to working together in future.”
