ESA invests in Swissto12 to accelerate European spacecom sovereignty | Computer Weekly

"Aerospace and satellite systems manufacturer Swissto12 has secured €73m in financial support from European Space Agency (ESA) member states to accelerate Swissto12's development and industrialisation of the HummingSat space programme. Explaining its core mission, Swissto12 says it is enabling a transformational shift in the global satellite communications industry, away from legacy large, purpose-built, expensive and slow-to-deploy services towards smaller, faster, cheaper assets that leverage software-defined, reconfigurable payload architectures and agile, multi-orbit capabilities."

"The HummingSat platform is regarded as a new class of geostationary small satellites that are said to be "significantly" smaller and more cost-efficient than conventional geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) craft. HummingSat is seen as offering new economics for the geostationary satellite market, unlocking faster builds, lower costs and ride-share launches. It's also said to offer a telecoms-grade service backbone that plugs directly into the 3GPP non-terrestrial networks standard, designed for mass-market adoption."

"Swissto12 also believes its form factor can support cost-effective production and ride-share launch opportunities with its proprietary, space-qualified additive manufacturing technology and advanced radio frequency (RF) systems, further enhancing payload performance, streamlining production, and reducing both manufacturing time and cost. The craft was developed in collaboration with the ESA through its public-private partnership programme. The company's RF products are said to benefit from unique and patented 3D printing technologies and associated radio frequency product designs that deliver lightweight, compact, high-performing and "competitive" RF functionality."

Swissto12 secured €73m from ESA member states to accelerate development and industrialise the HummingSat programme. HummingSat targets a new class of geostationary small satellites that are significantly smaller and more cost-efficient than conventional GEO craft, offering faster builds, lower costs and ride-share launch opportunities. The platform aims to provide a telecoms-grade service backbone compatible with 3GPP non-terrestrial networks standards for mass-market adoption. Swissto12 leverages proprietary space-qualified additive manufacturing and advanced RF systems to enhance payload performance, streamline production, and reduce manufacturing time and cost while scaling manufacturing capacity under the Artes partnership.

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