Formed 1 July 2009 Minister responsible , (etc.) | Headquarters The Netherlands Agency executive , (etc.) | |
Preceding agency Netherlands Agency for Aerospace Programmes
(in Dutch language, Nederlands Instituut voor Vliegtuigontwikkeling en Ruimtevaart (NIVR)) Jurisdiction RVO, an agency of the Ministry of Economic Affairs,
Kingdom of the Netherlands | ||
The Netherlands Space Office (NSO) is a space-exploration governmental agency of the Netherlands.
Contents
Creation
Three Dutch government ministries—the Ministry of Economic Affairs; the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science; and the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management—along with the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), an independent administrative body under the auspices of the Dutch-government Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, signed an agreement in October 2008 for the establishment of the NSO.
It was established as of 1 July 2009 following the merger of the space activities of the Netherlands Agency for Aerospace Programmes (in Dutch language, Nederlands Instituut voor Vliegtuigontwikkeling en Ruimtevaart (NIVR)), which was then disestablished.
Purpose
The NSO was established by the Dutch government to develop and administer the country's space programme. The NSO is the face of the Dutch space community for international space organisations, including the multi-country-member European Space Agency (ESA); the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), as well as the central point of contact for the space community within the Netherlands.
The NSO also works to educate students and the general public on the story of spaceflight science, usage and exploration.
Administration
The director of the NSO reports to the steering committee of the ministries. In terms of organisation and administration, the NSO falls under SenterNovem, an agency of the Ministry of Economic Affairs. SenterNovem's purpose is to implement governmental policies on innovation, environment and sustainability.