Space Applications Services

Space Applications Services is a Belgian aerospace engineering company delivering cutting-edge systems, products, and services for manned and unmanned spaceflight, defence, and Earth observation. The company combines deep engineering expertise with decades of operational experience, serving ESA, NASA, national space agencies, and commercial operators across robotics, mission control software, simulation, astronaut training, and space electronics.

The company has developed key enabling technologies flown on or used in support of the International Space Station and other prominent space programmes. Its YAMCS (Yet Another Mission Control System) is an open-source mission control framework widely adopted by small satellite operators and research organisations worldwide. HOTDOCK is a flight-qualified mating/demating device designed for in-orbit servicing, assembly, and commercial space station applications. The company also developed the LUVMI-M lunar rover concept for resource prospecting on the Moon.

In addition to hardware and software, Space Applications Services provides training services including astronaut training, microgravity experiment operations support, robotics training, and space engineering education programmes. The company is a strategic partner in the Starlab commercial space station consortium, and through its ICE Cubes Service enables commercial entities to access the ISS for microgravity experiments with a rapid, affordable route to orbit. The ICE Cubes platform provides standardised, commercially-operated experiment slots on the ISS without the traditional barriers of government-sponsored access.

Space Applications Services operates in Belgium and has expertise spanning mechanical engineering, electronics, robotics, software, operations, and space life sciences.