Aerospace

Wallonia is at the cutting edge of the aerospace industry. Airbus, Boeing, F-16s, Dassault's Rafale and many other aircraft today bear the stamp of Wallonia's expertise as well as Ariane 4 and 5 space programs and earth observation satellites.

The Wallonia Region hosts a European Space Agency station in Redu, which monitors the orbiting of different satellites. It is also involved in the international orbital station and in the European Meteorological Satellite Organization and Spot, which focuses on telecoms and observation.

In October 1998, the Wallonia Government opened the Spatiopole center, to encourage industrial exploitation of university research through the creation of new companies and expansion of existing companies. Among many other major achievements, the internationally renowned University of Liege Astrophysics Institute designed the camera that transmitted detailed images of Halley's Comet from the Giotto probe.

AMOS - located within the Liege science park - has developed globally-recognized expertise in on-board spatial instruments and optical instruments, used in the largest international astronomical observatories.

The Liège Space Center, also located in the Liege science park, is actively involved in the European space project Ariane, and is a partner of NASA. They can register patents and buy licenses and are a hub for SME spin-offs with the help of the Wallonia Space Logistics, which provides start-up support.

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