Tokyo (SCCIJ) – The Swiss aerospace company SWISSto12 has won Intelsat as the first commercial customer for its small geostationary telecommunications satellite HummingSat. SWISSto12 spun off in 2011 from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), is privately owned and backed by prominent Swiss and European investors.
SWISSto12 will help produce the Intelsat 45 satellite considered a landmark for next generation geostationary satellites (© SWISSto12)
Innovative mini-satellite
Intelsat, operator of the world’s largest integrated satellite and terrestrial network, has placed an order for the geostationary “HummingSat” satellite. It will be called Intelsat 45. Scheduled for launch in 2025, Intelsat 45 (IS-45) will provide Ku-band fixed-satellite services enabling Intelsat to provide specialized and efficient service to media and network customers.
Jean-Luc Froeliger, Senior Vice President of Space Systems at Intelsat, said: “The small size of the HummingSat addresses a gap in our fleet strategy, and the additive-manufacturing process used for this spacecraft is paving the way for faster satellite build cycles. We want to support the success of new players in the field of commercial communication satellites.”
Emile de Rijk, SWISSto12 founder and CEO, added: “The award of the IS-45 program by Intelsat is a landmark moment for SWISSto12. It is unprecedented for a specialist high growth scale up to secure a contract of this depth with a leading telecommunications operator. It provides a solid start to our HummingSat product line to open a new chapter in the satellite communications industry.”
SWISSto12 has branded its satellite product line after hummingbird (or Colibri)(© SWISSto12).
Different technology
HummingSat is a small, innovative telecommunications satellite developed by Vaud-based SWISSto12 in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) through its public-private-partnership program. It is significantly smaller than conventional geostationary telecommunication satellites, and therefore benefits from a rideshare launch strategy.
Named after the tiny, agile, fast-moving and yet apparently stationary hummingbird or colibri, HummingSats are just over one cubic meter in volume, which is three to ten times smaller than conventional satellites that are placed in geostationary orbit, some 36,000 kilometers above the earth surface.
Despite its small size, the satellite powers a highly capable telecommunications payload with approximately 2kW of power, which is enabled by SWISSto12’s unique 3D printed radio frequency products and systems. HummingSat provides satellite operators with a bespoke and competitive solution for delivery of regional or gap-filling services as well as economic replacement of ageing satellites.
It complements the much larger legacy spacecrafts commercialized by established companies, by providing a cost-effective opportunity to boost and expand capacity where needed. Each HummingSat is designed to launch as a rideshare mission on a rocket carrying one or more large spacecraft to orbit. The new satellite product line recently passed its system requirements review, assessed by a panel of ESA experts.
Text: SCCIJ with material of SWISSto12
