HummingSat
HummingSat is an ESA Partnership Project to build a new product line for the commercial geostationary telecommunications market.
The innovative small-sized satellite – named after the tiny, agile, fast-moving and yet apparently stationary hummingbird – is being developed and validated by SWISSto12, a growing new-space enterprise based in Renens, Switzerland, which is leading a consortium of suppliers from seven ESA Member States.
Because they are small and lightweight, HummingSats are much more affordable to build and launch, enabling satellite operators to provide bespoke regional or gap-filling services that would not be financially viable using large satellites.
HummingSats can also offer a competitive replacement option for certain legacy geostationary satellites that have reached the end of their lifetime.
The HummingSats are just over one-and-a-half cubic metre in volume, which is one-tenth the size of conventional satellites placed in geostationary orbit some 36 000 kilometres above Earth.
Swissto12 has already sold the first HummingSat Intelsat-45 to the global satellite operator Intelsat for a launch in 2025 and more orders are expected to be placed in the near future.
ESA Partnership Projects efficiently mitigate the risk borne by the European when developing ambitious endeavours.
Like previous ESA Partnership Projects, HummingSat is expected to generate an exceptional return on investment to European industry, creating jobs and boosting prosperity in ESA member states.
