Bright offices with a lounge and hammocks, fruit baskets, a ping-pong, but also a policy encouraging public transportation rather than private cars, and showers for those who are biking to the office or training, these are some of the benefits of the fast-growing Astrocast team. More importantly, the idea box actually gets opened, and you can even propose names and messages to be engraved on the upcoming satellites!

On the event side, once a month and to keep everyone on the same page, the “Thursday Pizza” all-hands meeting provides the latest updates from each team. And because we know that getting together to have a positive impact on our society is great for any team, once a year, the company offers one day to employees willing to donate their time and effort to a noble cause. We do something good for the community during the morning, and in the afternoon, we have a nice get-together as a team, relaxing and playing beach volley, for quality time away from desks and computers.

Waste in natural environments is a plague, damaging and contaminating living organisms that encounter them in water and soil. This year, to get involved in our community, our team partnered with the Summit Foundation – working for cleaner mountains, and reducing the environmental impact of human activities. Even though the Baye of Clarens and its river shores did not look that soiled when we arrived, we were astonished to have collected 127kg of waste including plastic, metal, a bike, even a boiler, and three 800L containers of invasive plants. A rewarding moment that forced everyone to pause and put things into perspective.

Aware that we all share this unique planet, our company culture has always considered the impact we have on our environment, from employees to products, both on Earth and in Space. According to the European Space Agency (ESA), more than 28 000 debris objects are regularly tracked in orbit. Not only this is pollution, but it could also damage or destroy functioning satellites in case of collision. Knowing that there are approximately 3200 active satellites in space and more than 3000 defunct ones, Astrocast is part of the Clean Space Initiative, a mission to tackle the issue of space debris. Responsible by design, Astrocast’s in-house-built nanosatellites have propulsion and deorbiting capabilities to avoid debris in space. And because its mission to connect the world is game-changing, Astrocast is also committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.