SWISSto12 is a manufacturer of advanced satellite Radio Frequency (RF) products, payloads, and systems, including the HummingSat, a small geostationary telecommunications satellite developed in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA). The company utilizes patented 3D-printing technologies to create lightweight, compact, and high-performance RF products, such as antennas, filters, and waveguides. SWISSto12 partners with major satellite operators, space agencies, and aerospace companies like Intelsat, Inmarsat, Thales, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and SES. The company's products are used in various space applications, including telecommunications, earth observation, and scientific missions.
All verified mentions of this organization in source documents.
SWISSto12 was the first company to apply to Startup Space and later became a fast-growing aerospace firm producing small, low-cost GEO satellites and 3D-printed antennas.
Rita Chen is Deputy Program Manager at Swissto12 and supported the Inmarsat‑8 satellite program.
SES has a HummingSat order with SWISSto12 for four satellites with the first of that new fleet scheduled to launch in 2027.
SWISSto12 is supplying three HummingSat satellites to Viasat under a contract announced in May 2023 that designs the HummingSats for 15-year missions in GEO orbit.
Viasat, including assets inherited from its acquisition of Inmarsat, has plans for three HummingSat satellites supplied by SWISSto12.
Inmarsat-8 is partnered with Swissto12 and has an anticipated service entry in 2028.
SWISSto12 received a mix of institutional and private funding to support HummingSat development.
The European Space Agency invested in SWISSto12 to accelerate maturation of the HummingSat product line and the manufacturing ramp-up for that product line.
SWISSto12 develops advanced radio-frequency components, payloads and systems using proprietary 3D printing technologies and associated RF design techniques.
SWISSto12's RF products aim to deliver lighter, more compact, and higher-performance RF functionality for satellite missions.
SWISSto12 expects demand for HummingSat to rise as operators seek multi-orbit capabilities and more flexible transponder capacity for data-intensive applications.
SWISSto12 positions HummingSat as a response to a satellite communications market shifting from large bespoke spacecraft toward smaller, faster, and lower-cost assets that exploit software-defined and reconfigurable payload architectures.
SWISSto12 will use ESA funding to expand its production capacity and accelerate introduction of new payload and platform innovations for government and commercial operators.
Emile de Rijk is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of SWISSto12.
SWISSto12 intends the phased array antennas to enable links to and from both geostationary and non-geostationary orbits.
The investment will enable SWISSto12 to further develop phased-array antenna technologies for use onboard LEO, MEO, and GEO satellite payloads and for ground products such as user terminals.
The funding will accelerate SWISSto12’s development and industrialization of the HummingSat platform.
The funding will scale up SWISSto12’s manufacturing capacity and accelerate new product innovations.
Several ESA member states invested approximately €73 million ($84.8 million) in financial support to SWISSto12 through the HummingSat ARTES partnership project.
SWISSto12 is developing the HummingSat platform in partnership with ESA with a first launch scheduled for 2027.