About
A launch pad for the space technology — and for the people who'll build its future.
Story
On 7 October 2025, the Dutch space sector marked a milestone: the festive opening of CometLab, the Netherlands' first laboratory fully dedicated to space innovation.
Located at the heart of NL Space Campus in Noordwijk, right next to ESA's ESTEC facility, CometLab is a dynamic collaboration hub and advanced makerspace. It brings together companies, researchers, students, and space professionals to prototype satellites, ground stations, optical systems, and other space-inspired technologies — turning early ideas into real, testable hardware.
Talent for the future
Developing new talent is central to what CometLab does — not by running programmes ourselves, but by giving them a place to happen. We provide the facility, organise trainings, and host workshops and competitions that introduce students and young professionals to space exploration. Along the way, new collaborations take shape between companies, universities, and international partners.
Who it's for
CometLab is for anyone turning ideas into reality — individually or as part of a team. Startup prototyping their first product. Established companies running a sprint or testing a concept. Students and young professionals getting hands-on experience and their first industry connections. Right now, that also includes researchers from Wfront Principle, working on their own prototypes at our lab.
Curious what that looks like in practice?
The bigger ecosystem
CometLab is part of NL Space Campus's long-term vision: a connected European hub, next to ESA/ESTEC, where research, industry, education, and public partners work together across the full space value chain — from early prototyping to scale-up. Being part of that ecosystem is what makes real connections possible: co-organised events, shared projects, and access to the wider network of companies and institutions on campus.