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SPACEBEL has recently secured an agreement with Starion, prime contractor of the European Space Agency's SAFEPLACE emergency response platform.     
Designed to support fast, informed decision-making during complex disasters such as wildfires, floods, earthquakes and chemical incidents, SAFEPLACE relies on space technology in combination with terrestrial data to ensure civil security.

In the context of increasingly frequent and severe challenges caused by climate change world-wide, the European Space Agency set up the Civil Security from Space (CSS) programme in November 2022. Its goal: foster space-based solutions to help organisations involved in civil security prepare for and act swiftly during humanitarian crises, law enforcement and safety events.

Initiated in 2024, the 3-year Safety Platform for Crisis and Emergency (SAFEPLACE) project is an initiative within ESA’s CCS programme bringing together several European partners under the leadership of Starion Technologies NV (Belgium).

As a centralised and secure crisis management platform for relevant disaster management services and products, SAFEPLACE will provide near real-time actionable information to various stakeholders. The solution targets among others the Belgian Federal Police, provincial crisis centres (e.g. Safe.brussels), the Belgian National Crisis Centre (NCCN), civil protection in Belgium and Spain, fire brigades as well as the Red Cross.

SAFEPLACE is built around four use cases in Belgium and Spain, including a live demonstration with crisis management organisations and first responders. Thanks to the recently signed contract, SPACEBEL plays an important role in the SAFEPLACE extension developments dedicated to wildfire issues. 
Building on our established expertise in the field of Earth observation applications combined with AI technologies, we develop a new fire hazard map service assessing wildfire ignition probability and fire susceptibility in Belgium. We will also investigate the possibility of integrating neighbouring regions from France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands into the service.

Our participation in this collaborative effort clearly underpins SPACEBEL’s overall commitment: contribute to a safe and sustainable planet by engineering solutions for the global space ecosystem.