ZURICH — Pathway to Space Research
The Center for Space and Aviation Switzerland and Liechtenstein (CSA) is facilitating a transition for researchers and companies to advance experiments from ground development and parabolic flights in Switzerland to the International Space Station (ISS).
This initiative is anchored at the Switzerland Innovation Park Zurich and Dübendorf airfield, where CSA is integrating ground-based development with microgravity testing and orbital research opportunities.
Additionally, CSA and Starlab Space offer three competitively selected experiment slots with complimentary access to the ISS as part of this initiative. They also aim to extend this pathway to Starlab’s upcoming commercial space station, anticipating the ISS’s retirement.
Dübendorf: Linking Ground and Microgravity Research
The program merges two phases of microgravity investigation, allowing researchers to utilize parabolic flights for brief experiments in reduced gravity before progressing to longer-duration research in orbit. CSA kicked off its eighth Swiss Parabolic Flight Campaign on September 7, complementing the new orbital research effort with Starlab.
The Switzerland Innovation Park Zurich is being developed as a foundational ground segment alongside the Switzerland Innovation Park Zurich Foundation. Here, researchers, startups, and companies can refine technologies prior to parabolic flight and, eventually, orbital work.
International Collaborations for Access
CSA is collaborating with various organizations to connect Dübendorf with flight, orbital, and launch facilities outside Switzerland. The Royal Netherlands Aerospace Center (NLR) and Novespace enhance parabolic flight access, while Starlab facilitates research aboard the ISS and future commercial endeavors in low Earth orbit. CSA is also partnering with Space Florida to link users to the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral launch ecosystem.
These collaborations provide a clear route for researchers, from development in Switzerland to microgravity testing and orbital operations. Carmen Walker Späh, president of the Government Council of the Canton of Zurich, remarked, “Thanks to strong global partnerships of the CSA, the Switzerland Innovation Park Zurich and Dübendorf airfield are becoming a European hub for commercial space activities.”
Vision Beyond the ISS
The pathway is intended to continue after the ISS’s retirement. Starlab, a joint venture involving companies such as Voyager Technologies, Airbus, and Palantir Technologies, is developing a commercial space station to further support research and other low Earth orbit activities.
Through this new initiative, customers can execute research onboard the ISS before transitioning future projects to Starlab when it becomes operational. CSA and the Zurich Innovation Park Foundation intend to further develop the Dübendorf infrastructure through 2030, aiming to connect ground development, microgravity qualification, and orbital missions for various enterprises, startups, and research institutions.
