The year 2024 was a transformative one for cosine, marked by growth in staff, the addition of state-of-the-art cleanrooms, and securing remarkable contracts with key partners. As the company embarks on 2025, its founder and Managing Director, Prof. Dr Marco Beijersbergen, envisions a pivotal year of scaling operations and solidifying its position as a major player in the dynamic and rapidly evolving space industry, all while maintaining its innovative roots.
A major player
Prof. Dr Beijersbergen began by reflecting on cosine’s evolution from a small, innovative startup to a major force in the space sector. “These are very exciting times for us because we’ve seen this shift happening over the last few years, but now it’s really accelerating. We have transitioned from a company focused on innovation and developing new technologies into a major player in the space field.”
He elaborated: “We make use of what we have developed over the years to operate across multiple domains, contributing to various programs—from deep space exploration to Earth observation— supporting institutional programs, within and outside the European Space Agency (ESA), as well as applications on the ground. From a small group of clever people working together over 25 years ago, we have now become an established and professional organization capable of developing and manufacturing space products for a wide range of applications and undertaking larger projects to serve a growing community in the space business.”
This shift, however, isn’t solely about increasing the company’s size but about maximizing its impact. “Our heritage of innovation allows us to tackle complex projects while operating as a professional organization ready to serve an expanding community of customers. Over the next 12 months, cosine aims to maximize its impact across the several areas we’re active in and prepare to take on large contracts while supplying more customers with increasingly specific and complex products,” Prof. Beijersbergen continued.
An expanding market and its challenges
cosine has been in operation for more than 25 years. As the company’s founder, Prof. Beijersbergen has observed the rapid evolution of the market it operates in. While opportunities abound, he emphasized the challenges that accompany such rapid expansion. : “Space is evolving into a dynamic and integral part of society. The major challenge, driven by rapid growth, is to control that growth and ensure it doesn’t introduce additional risks. I’m not talking about cosine as a company—we are very well established—but about ensuring that the projects we take part in don’t have unnecessary risks. Customers must also have sufficient knowledge to do their part of the program, and the financing of the entire program needs to be predictable and well-managed to guarantee successful outcomes—not just in cosine’s contribution, but across the entire effort.”
For him, cosine has a responsibility to “make use of our long heritage in the space business to help customers achieve reliable solutions and predictable programs. The space market is growing quickly, and many new entrants are still learning the ropes. Our role goes beyond being a supplier—we aim to guide our customers in navigating this dynamic industry.”
He added: “Our approach, coupled with our long-standing experience, allows us to cater to both traditional institutional clients and new players entering the space market. We are uniquely positioned to serve this rapidly developing market, helping customers—many of whom are non-traditional space players—build reliable and impactful solutions.”
Innovation at heart
cosine’s foundational philosophy—leveraging existing technologies to create scalable, reusable solutions—has now positioned it as a leader in a space industry experiencing rapid growth.
“Innovation has always been at the heart of cosine,” Prof. Beijersbergen explained. “cosine started 27 years ago with the idea of making use of what is already there, focusing on the end result, and ensuring our projects serve more customers and applications. Unlike traditional programs, we’ve never treated our work as one-off projects. We’ve always aimed to reuse solutions for other applications and customers, running space like a business.”
Internally, cosine faces its own growth-related challenges. “There’s a risk that growth can lead to becoming too operational and losing the innovative strength that defines us,” Prof. Beijersbergen cautioned. “As we scale, we must ensure we retain our innovative spirit and the lessons we’ve learned over the past 27 years. Growth must not come at the expense of our core values,” he emphasized. This involves training new talent, integrating diverse skill sets, and fostering collaboration across teams.
He added “We are committed to preserving cosine’s culture of challenging assumptions and seeking new solutions. In 2025, we’ll allocate resources explicitly for research and development, foster collaborations with universities, and challenge the status quo to ensure innovation remains integral to our growth.”
The company is embedding innovation into its processes. “We want to ensure there’s explicit room for research and collaboration with universities and other experts. Innovation must remain a conscious part of our business strategy,” Prof. Beijersbergen added.
As he aptly summarized: “In 2025, we’re not just scaling up as a company; we’re scaling our impact, our innovation, and our ability to shape the space industry for years to come.”
When asked to define 2025 in one word, he replied, “team.” He elaborated: “We’ve gone from a small, integrated team to a larger organization while ensuring we still operate as one cohesive unit, with more specialists and business-side professionals. But we will also continue to team up with our customers to develop and provide the optimal solutions they need.”
About cosine
cosine is a leading worldwide company in the development of space instrumentation, such as Silicon Pore Optics for astronomy and remote sensing solutions with onboard analytics for Earth Observation and planetary science. cosine combines physics and technology to bring out-of-the-box solutions to its clients. cosine has been developing and delivering innovative measurement systems for space and industrial applications since 1998. The company operates 1,300 m2 of cleanrooms and high-tech assembly facilities to build and test the systems we produce for customers at our headquarters in Sassenheim, The Netherlands.
