Swiss satellite firms opens US control centre

Satellite maker Swissto12 is opening a command and control centre in the US for its 3D printed small geostationary satellites.

Swissto12 makes a geostationary communications small satellite called Hummingbird, developed in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA) The centre in Athens, Georgia, will oversee the launch and manage the orbit raise to the right geostationary position of the satellites before handover to the company’s customers. 

HummingSat is a new class of SmallSat that at 1000kg is up to five times smaller and lighter than conventional geostationary satellites. This allows it to be designed for launch on a ride-share which is not possible for existing geostationary satellites. The first launches scheduled for 2026 on the Ariane 6 rocket for  Intelsat, Viasat+Inmarsat and ESA. Other customers include Thales, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman.

Headquartered in Renens, Switzerland, with facilities in the US and across Europe, the company uses patented 3D printing and additive manufacturing to produce advanced satellite payloads and Radio-Frequency systems.

The US centre follows a collaboration with , which will use electrical orbit raising (EOR) to take the satellites to their final location in geostationary orbit, 22,236 miles (35,785 km) above earth. This all-electric propulsion system offers significant advantages in terms of mass efficiency, cost-effectiveness over traditional chemical propulsion technologies. 

• First software defined geostationary satellite in orbit
• First 5G links from geostationary satellite
• Inmarsat combines GEO and LEO satellites with 5G

The facility in Georgia will house the company’s own satellite command and control facilities, acting as the nerve centre for global mission operations before satellite handover to customers once orbital positioning and in orbit test is complete. 

The centre is also equipped for sub-system and payload testing, anomaly detection and processing as well as the operation of a satellite spaceflight simulator; a sophisticated and dynamic digital twin of the HummingSat satellite. This digital twin allows the Swissto12 team to simulate, analyze and optimize the orbital performance of each HummingSat to ensure mission success for customers. 

“The world depends on geostationary satellite communications for cost-efficient connectivity. HummingSat offers telecommunications operators a lower cost and more agile asset than conventional large geostationary satellites, while maintaining high performance and reliability,” said Mike Kaliski, HummingSat Programme CTO at Swissto12.

“Our Georgia facility, staffed by our dedicated team of mission experts, is a state-of-the-art satellite command and control center that will ensure precise orbital positioning for HummingSat and successful geostationary deployments for our customers from first launches in 2026 and beyond.”