KU Leuven researchers prepare “billboard in space”

GDF Suez and Electrabel are the first to provide financial support in exchange for the featuring of their logo on the mini-satellite. Nobody will be able to see their logos in space, but this world-first initiative should help them get media attention and show off their ecological ambitions.

GDF Suez has committed to decrease its carbon dioxide emissions by 10% by 2020, and Electrabel has already reduced the carbon dioxide emissions of its electricity production park by 6.1 million tons. GDF Suez is also active in the space sector.

There is increasing development of microsatellites, which is considered a way to democratise the space sector. Microsatellites are small, built with standard materials and launched with many others at the same time, making them more affordable than standard satellites. Many universities worldwide are creating such microsatellites for research purposes.