Verhaert and Spacetec land contract to support space startups

Belgium’s Verhaert and Spacetec have landed a new contract from the European Commission (EC) to lend their expertise and guidance in the burgeoning realm of European space technologies. The duo will receive a minimum of 1.2 million euros, and up to 3.6 million, to support space research and innovation by organizing hackathons and offering mentoring to startups on behalf of the EC. This includes two hackathons in 2021, with another potential four to follow in the coming years upon renewal of the contract.

The resulting European Space Hackathons and Mentoring program is the first step of the EC’s Competitive Space Startups for Innovation (Cassini) initiative to grow the number of startups successfully commercializing innovative European-based technologies for space. “The new Cassini hackathons will build on the legacy of innovation programs our companies jointly implemented for space such as the Copernicus Accelerator and Point.IoT,” says Thomas Tanghe, partner at Spacetec. “Together, we’re looking forward to continuing our efforts toward fostering awareness and user uptake for the components of the European Space Program: Copernicus, Galileo, Egnos, Govsatcom and Space Situational Awareness.”