📋 Tender Overview
The Dutch and Norwegian armed forces will launch 2 identical nano-satellites in mid-December. With these small and cheap satellites the Netherlands and Norway maintain their independent information position. They have been developed in the MilSpace2 program together with the Dutch knowledge institutes NLR and TNO and the Norwegian FFI. In order to steer matters regarding the launch and satellite use in the right direction both ministries signed a document yesterday to record their intentions.In this memorandum of understanding MoU the Netherlands and Norway promise each other to conduct their joint space activities safely and responsibly in accordance with the space law treaties.Detect and identifyThe system to be launched consists of the microsatellites Huygens Netherlands and Birkeland Norway. They fly in tandem formation at an altitude of about 550 kilometers in orbit around the earth at a distance of 15 to 25 kilometers. This allows the satellites to simultaneously record signals and detect and identify specific radar systems.The growing threat of states denying other states free access to space calls for resilient and affordable space capabilities. The Netherlands is developing this together with knowledge institutes and international partners within NATO the EU andor together with another country. The Netherlands and Norway are strategic partners and both have high-tech industries. This led to the development and launch of microsatellites. With this the countries are now demonstrating their research and development capabilities. Ultimately these resources must also be available for operational military use. Advantages of microsatellitesDue to the limited size and weight of these satellites the launch costs are considerably lower than traditional large and expensive satellites. At the same time these microsatellites can collect high-quality military-relevant information. The Netherlands and Norway are world leaders in knowledge and technology in the field of microsatellites.The satellites are controlled from Norway and are given tasks by Norwegian and Dutch operators. The MilSpace2 project will eventually provide strategic and operationally relevant niche capacity. This then contributes to the independent intelligence position of both countries.
