WASHINGTON — Swissto12 is increasing the size of its production facilities in Switzerland this year in order to gain more business in a growing market for small geostationary satellites.
The 3D printing expert announced on March 19 that it plans to add 1,200 square meters of production space to its existing 4,500 square meter site at its headquarters in Renens, Switzerland.
The expansion involves taking over more floors at the building and includes a large clean room to support the production of its dishwasher-sized HummingSat spacecraft and radio frequency subsystem products.
Last year, Swissto12 added 2,000 square meters of production space to the factory to increase its capabilities.
The company is currently constructing four connectivity satellites: One for Intelsat and three for Viasat.
Emile de Rijk, Swissto12’s CEO, said all four satellites are on track to meet scheduled launches to geostationary orbit (GEO) in 2026. Intelsat has booked a ride on Arianespace’s next-generation Ariane 6 rocket for its IS-45 satellite in the first half of 2026. A launch provider has not been announced for Viasat’s trio of I-8 satellites.
Swissto12 also announced that it has recently added several satellite engineering experts to a team that has grown 25% since the start of the year to 125 employees, spread across facilities in Switzerland, Europe, and the United States.
The additional production capacity would support current satellite and radio frequency subsystem contracts worth more than $200 million in total, according to de Rijk, and it prepares the company for future growth.
Similar to Astranis, which is developing satellites of similar size in California, Swissto12 sees a growing demand for more localized services using smaller and more affordable spacecraft with less capacity compared to typical geostationary satellites, which are the size of a school bus and have more space for transponders and power.
“By 2030, we expect there will be well over 10 HummingSats in geostationary orbit,” de Rijk told SpaceNews, “enabling satellite operators and nations to offer high-performing and competitive connectivity to billions of people worldwide.
Astranis launched its first and currently only small satellite in GEO in April, but experienced a problem with a solar panel part provided by an external supplier.
However, Astranis has continued to gain customers before launching its next satellites this summer, including its 11th customer announced this week for a launch in 2025.
“We’re actually going to launch more satellites than the entire industry combined over the next few years for GEO,” said Astranis CEO John Gedmark on March 19 during the Satellite Conference here.
