Innovative space start-ups: These Swiss companies are reaching for the stars

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This example of a start-up in Zurich shows how broad the applications are in the space industry. Materials researchers are developing materials for 3D printing processes called “liquid crystal polymers.” These can be used with such precision that in 2020, ESA commissioned NematX to produce various parts to be used on the international space station ISS.

At Volketswil, engineers, mathematicians, physicists and software developers work together to program the artificial intelligence systems and data processors that process data on space stations. They are currently producing a processor for ESA that, among other things, is protected from harmful space radiation like those found on the ISS (pictured).

In fact, Beyond Gravity was once called RUAG Space. In 2020, the name of the space department of the Swiss defense company was changed. The Zurich-based company generates annual sales of approximately 320 million francs from the various space applications it develops. One of the many developments are the so-called “load carrying bodies”. Swiss casings are found on nearly all NASA and ESA rockets; pictured is a reusable casing at the front of the rocket.

Space debris is a big problem: Rocket parts from old missions and old satellites orbiting Earth can make new missions impossible, as they damage new satellites and rockets in collisions. In 2020, ESA commissioned the Swiss company Clearspace SA, headquartered in Renens VD, to launch an unmanned mission to collect space debris. To this end, a type of grasping robot (pictured) is planned to be launched on the Clearspace 1 mission in 2026.

Source : Blick