HE Space
HE Space provides specialized staffing, recruitment, and contracting services for the European space sector, placing engineers and technical staff at ESA, EUMETSAT, and major space primes including Airbus and ArianeGroup. Operating as part of the SpaceForce brand with CS Group and Sopra Steria, it serves institutional and commercial space customers across 30+ countries.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1982
- HeadquartersNoordwijk, Netherlands
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What HE Space does
HE Space is an international contracting services company dedicated to the European space sector, founded in 1982 and headquartered in Noordwijk, Netherlands. The firm provides specialized staffing and recruitment services — on-site contracting (with HE Space as employer of record handling payroll, benefits, and compliance), off-site engineering teams, direct recruitment, and hourly consulting — placing engineers, scientists, operations specialists, and software developers into European institutional space organizations (ESA, EUMETSAT, EUSPA, DLR) and commercial primes (Airbus Defence and Space, ArianeGroup, OHB, Thales Alenia Space), as well as New Space start-ups. The contractor pool spans more than 30 countries and is managed by an internal HR, recruitment, finance, and marketing organization that operates across offices in the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, France, Romania, and other European geographies. The company was acquired by CS Group in January 2023 and operates under the unified 'SpaceForce' brand alongside CS Group and ultimate parent Sopra Steria (Euronext Paris: SOP); the German legal entity was merged into CS Group Germany GmbH in February 2024.
The underlying technology stack is bifurcated. HE Space's core delivery is its 40+ year talent database, recruitment process, and embedded presence at ESA sites (ESTEC, ESOC, ESAC, ESRIN, ECSAT, EAC), supported by an ISO 9001 quality management system and ESA Best Supplier 2023 recognition across six domains. Group-level technical products now available alongside staffing include GOSMIC (a satellite ground segment solution covering control centers, mission planning, flight dynamics, and production centers) and METIS (a Big Data and data intelligence platform built on the CS Landscape open-source framework). Distribution is direct via Business Development Managers and an enterprise sales motion across European geographies, with candidate acquisition through the hespace.com job portal, email job alerts, an Instagram presence, and a SmartRecruiters-powered application tracking system. Revenue mechanics are contract-based staffing margins and hourly consulting fees, with no public pricing disclosed and compensation driven by customer job grade, experience, and qualifications.
HE Space firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- HE Space
- Legal name
- HE Space Operations B.V.
- Website
- https://hespace.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1982
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- HE Space provides specialized staffing, recruitment, and contracting services for the European space sector, placing engineers and technical staff at ESA, EUMETSAT, and major space primes including Airbus and ArianeGroup. Operating as part of the SpaceForce brand with CS Group and Sopra Steria, it serves institutional and commercial space customers across 30+ countries.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where HE Space is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Noordwijk
- HQ country
- Netherlands
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices9 records
Markets served
HE Space business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- On-site Contracting Services: Selected candidates provide support at customer company premises (or other location) but are employed by HE Space. HE Space manages the full range of HR services including payroll, benefits, and compliance while staff is based at the customer's site.
- Recruitment Services: HE Space finds the right candidate and performs all necessary contract negotiations. The candidate is then employed directly by the customer.
- Off-site Engineering Teams: Off-site engineering teams providing expertise in system design and deployment for short and long term projects.
- Consulting Services: Consultants hired for short term projects where their services are billed hourly.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
HE Space product offering
Product offeringCore offering
HE Space is an international contracting services company dedicated to the space sector, providing specialized space experts for engineering, science, operations, software development, and administration roles to institutional space organisations and major space companies. The company delivers end-to-end staffing solutions through on-site contracting (employees placed at customer sites), off-site engineering teams, direct recruitment, and short-term consulting services, while managing the full HR lifecycle including payroll, compliance, relocation, and professional development for its deployed workforce.
Product overview
HE Space is a space sector contracting services company that provides specialized staffing solutions. Under the SpaceForce brand (alongside CS GROUP and Sopra Steria), the company offers space staffing services (on-site and off-site engineering), GOSMIC (ground segment solution for satellite control, mission planning, and flight dynamics), and METIS (data intelligence platform for Big Data and analytics). Services span the entire space mission lifecycle including civil and military programs in Earth Observation (EO), Navigation (GNSS), Satellite Communications (SATCOM), Science/Exploration, and Safety sectors.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Space Staffing Solutions
- GOSMIC - Ground Operation System and Mission Intelligence Center
- METIS - Data Intelligence Platform
- Direct Recruitment Services
- Consulting Services
Quantifiable outcome
- Best Supplier award from ESA in 2023 in domains: EOP Engineering Support, Automation Optics and Life Sciences Support, RF Systems Payload and Technologies, Business Management, Controlling and Administration, Engineering Support to Telecommunications and Integrated Applications
Companies that use HE Space
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
HE Space technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
HE Space partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- StarionminorSopra Steria completed acquisition of Starion in April 2026. Starion is a European specialist in systems engineering for space, defence and critical infrastructure, operating across the entire life cycle for space missions from design to operation.
- NexovaminorSopra Steria completed acquisition of Nexova in April 2026. Nexova is a recognised cybersecurity operator specialising in safeguarding complex environments and critical infrastructure, with solid presence in the space sector.
- CS GroupcoreHE Space was acquired by CS Group in January 2023. CS Group is a French multinational with strong presence in the space industry. HE Space Operations BV in the Netherlands and HE Space Operations Ltd. in Harwell, UK continue to operate independently as part of CS Group's corporate structure.
- Sopra SteriacoreSopra Steria is the ultimate parent company of CS Group. HE Space operates under the common brand 'SpaceForce' along with CS Group and Sopra Steria. Sopra Steria generated €5.8 billion revenue in 2024 with 50,000 employees.
- SpaceForcecoreSpaceForce is the integrated space business unit bringing together HE Space, CS Group, and Sopra Steria. CS Group leads SpaceForce. The unit supports civil and military space missions (EO, GNSS, SATCOM, Science/Exploration and Safety) along their entire life cycle.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
HE Space competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Akkodis: Akkodis (formerly AKKA Technologies) is a European engineering and digital services firm with a large aerospace and space-sector staffing and consulting practice. Its business model of placing engineers on customer sites and running engineering service centers is directly comparable to HE Space's on-site contracting and off-site engineering team offerings.
- Serco: Serco is a UK-listed public services contractor with a significant space division providing workforce, operations and engineering services to ESA, EUMETSAT and the European Space and Astronomy community. It is one of the closest direct competitors for European institutional space staffing contracts.
- Telespazio: Telespazio, a Leonardo/Thales joint venture, provides satellite operations, engineering services and ground segment support across Europe. It competes with HE Space/CS Group for satellite operations, flight dynamics and mission control staffing at ESA and the European primes.
- Expleo: Expleo provides engineering, quality and digital consulting services to aerospace and space customers across Europe. Its mix of on-site engineering staffing and project-based consulting is structurally analogous to HE Space, and it serves many of the same institutional and prime customers.
- CS Group: CS Group is HE Space's direct parent and the lead entity of the SpaceForce business unit, delivering space systems engineering, ground segment software (GOSMIC), and data platforms (METIS). Despite being the parent, it operates an overlapping space-services model with engineering services and software products that complement HE Space's staffing core.
- Starion: Starion is a European systems engineering specialist for space, defence and critical infrastructure, recently acquired by Sopra Steria alongside HE Space. Its space-mission lifecycle services and customer base overlap materially with HE Space's, and it now sits within the same SpaceForce group.
- Space Applications Services: Space Applications Services is a Belgian space engineering company operating in the ESA ecosystem, providing astronaut training, operations support, and spacecraft engineering services. Its proximity to ESTEC and overlap with ESA domain work make it a directly comparable European space services peer.
- Alten: Alten is a European engineering and technology consulting firm with a strong aerospace and space vertical, placing consultants and engineering teams at OEMs, agencies and Tier-1 suppliers. Closely comparable to HE Space in operating model, European footprint, and reliance on aerospace/defense demand.
Broad incumbents
- Capgemini Engineering: Capgemini Engineering (formerly Altran) is a global engineering services and digital transformation firm with a sizable aerospace and space practice. While broader and more diversified than HE Space, it competes for space engineering services and digital platform work across European institutional and commercial customers.
- Sopra Steria: Sopra Steria is the ultimate parent of HE Space and a large European IT and engineering services group (€5.8B revenue, 50,000 employees) with a dedicated space vertical under SpaceForce. It is a much broader incumbent whose space practice overlaps with HE Space but whose scale and portfolio extend well beyond staffing.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
HE Space social profiles
Digital presenceHE Space compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
HE Space financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
HE Space leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
HE Space subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
HE Space funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
HE Space M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about HE Space
What does HE Space do?
HE Space is an international contracting services company dedicated to the space sector, providing specialized space experts for engineering, science, operations, software development, and administration roles to institutional space organisations and major space companies. The company delivers end-to-end staffing solutions through on-site contracting (employees placed at customer sites), off-site engineering teams, direct recruitment, and short-term consulting services, while managing the full HR lifecycle including payroll, compliance, relocation, and professional development for its deployed workforce.
Is HE Space a public or private company?
HE Space is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was HE Space founded?
HE Space was founded in 1982. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is HE Space based?
HE Space is headquartered in Noordwijk, Netherlands, in the Europe region.
How does HE Space make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. On-site Contracting Services are the primary driver. The others are recruitment Services, off-site Engineering Teams and consulting Services.
Who are HE Space's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Akkodis, Serco, Telespazio, Expleo, CS Group, Starion, Space Applications Services and Alten. Broad incumbents are Capgemini Engineering and Sopra Steria.
Does HE Space have an API?
No public API is recorded for HE Space.