5 May 2026 – SWISSto12 announced today a major contract with German high-performance space subsystem providers HPS/LSS. The Munich-based consortium will provide a large deployable reflector subsystem (LDRS) for the NEASTAR-1 mission, built on HummingSat, enabling the world’s first direct-to-device media broadcasting capabilities from geostationary orbit. The German-led antenna reflector subsystem is the result of more than 15 years of development under the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Advanced Research in Telecommunications (ARTES) programme, ESA’s Earth Observation Technology Development activities, and the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme. The contract for the NEASTAR-1-LDRS is co-funded by ESA, with core funding from the German Space Agency within the German Aerospace Center (DLR), and further contributions from additional ESA Member States. Read more