PARIS (ESA PR) — A small but powerful European telecommunications satellite – the first of a series – is to be developed under a contract signed between ESA and SWISSto12, an innovative company based in Renens, Switzerland.

The MicroGEO Partnership Project is part of ESA’s efforts to support fast, dynamic and agile private space firms to foster innovation and promote the competitiveness of the European space industry.

The slimline satellite will be placed into geostationary orbit some 36,000 kilometres above the Earth, from where it will stream data or broadcast television. Measuring just one cubic metre, the MicroGEO satellite will be one tenth the size of conventional geostationary satellites.

PARIS (ESA PR) — A small European telecommunications satellite intended for launch into geostationary orbit some 36 000 kilometres above the Earth – which can be used as a basis for future satellites – has won support from ESA.

ARLINGTON, Va. and LAUSANNE, Switzerland — CAES, the leading provider of RF technologies and related mission critical electronic solutions, and SWISSto12, the leading provider of 3D printed technology for RF applications in the aerospace and defense industry, announced today a strategic alliance to enable CAES to bring additive manufacturing and 3D printing technology to US customers. The alliance grants CAES exclusive license to SWISSto12’s patents, trade secrets, and product designs for the US market. CAES and SWISSto12 will work together with US customers on new designs to meet the high performance requirements of future missions.