Top talent Jeroen Cappaert
Jeroen Cappaert was chosen by the business magazine Forbes as the ‘young pioneer’ in the science category. The American magazine draws up its ‘30 Under 30’ list every year, which includes the “brightest young entrepreneurs, breakout talents and change agents”.
The 27-year-old civil engineer touched upon and became obsessed with space travel during his studies at the University of Leuven (KU Leuven). He then went to the French International Space University (ISU) where he gained his Master’s degree in Space Studies. It was at ISU that he met Peter Platzer and Joel Spark, with whom he eventually set up the company NanoSatisfi. Before that, he worked as a researcher at the NASA research centre in Ames (California, United States).
NanoSatisfi was renamed Spire Global. The company uses nanosatellites: small satellites that are used to keep an eye on all kinds of things on Earth, from ships in international sea lanes to the weather. Cappaert is Lead Payload Engineer and is mainly responsible for preparing calculations for rocket launches and satellite electronics.
The company made €37 million by the middle of last year, money that will be used in the short term to launch around twenty satellites. The aim is to have a network of one hundred satellites in space, which would mean that Spire has the largest number of satellites in the world.
Spire describes itself as a “satellite-powered data company that tackles business challenges with data solutions for organizations” and has offices in the United States and Singapore and manufacturing facilities in Scotland.