“MicroGEO satellites open up exciting new market opportunities that can suddenly be serviced from geostationary orbit, thereby offering a complementary solution to larger spacecraft currently on the market. We are thrilled to have partnered with ESA on our first mission. SWISSto12 will benefit from ESA’s experience and technical support to bring this new product to the commercial market,” said Emile de Rijk, chief executive of SWISSto12.

Elodie Viau, Director of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications at ESA, said: “I very much welcome this initiative of developing a micro-geostationary satellite product line in Europe, led by SWISSto12. ESA works with small and medium-sized enterprises such as SWISSto12 to boost innovation and the competitiveness of the European and Canadian space industry in the global market for telecommunications satellites. We are looking forward to working on this new ESA Partnership Project to support our fast, dynamic and agile private space firms to de-risk their investments to meet the needs of the market.”