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| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1 July 2009 |
| Preceding agencies |
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| Headquarters | The Hague, Netherlands |
| Minister responsible |
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| Agency executive |
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| Child agencies |
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| Website | spaceoffice.nl |
TheNetherlands Space Office (NSO) is the space agency of theNetherlands.
Three Dutch governmentministries — theMinistry of Economic Affairs; theMinistry of Education, Culture and Science; and theMinistry of Infrastructure and Water Management — along with theNetherlands 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 theNetherlands Agency for Aerospace Programmes (inDutch language,Nederlands Instituut voor Vliegtuigontwikkeling en Ruimtevaart (NIVR)), which was then disestablished,[citation needed] and several other institutes (KNMI, SRON).
NSO was established by the Dutch government to advise on the Netherlands Space Policy and to develop and administer the country's space programme. NSO represents The Netherlands to international space organisations, including the multi-country-memberEuropean Space Agency (ESA); the United StatesNational Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and theJapan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). NSO is also the central government point of contact for the space community in the Netherlands.[citation needed]
The NSO also promotes education and communication on space, especially the Netherlands space activities.
The director of NSO reports to thesteering committee of the ministries. In terms of organisation and administration, the NSO resorts under RVO, an agency of the Ministry of Economic Affairs.