A European Gateway to Commercial Space is established in Dübendorf

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The Center for Space and Aviation Switzerland and Liechtenstein (CSA) is bringing together a fully integrated pathway at the Switzerland Innovation Park Zurich from laboratory preparation through parabolic flight test and qualification to low Earth orbit. With international partners across Europe and the United States, the hub now provides a practical route to orbital research and development aboard the International Space Station (ISS) – including three initial free competitive experiment slots provided jointly by the Center for Space and Aviation Switzerland and Liechtenstein (CSA) and Starlab Space – and, in the future, to commercial space stations such as Starlab.

Starting on 7 September, with the first day of the 8th Swiss Parabolic Flight Campaign, CSA and Starlab are launching a Zurich-to-orbit pathway. The infrastructure of CSA and the University of Zurich in Florida creates an operational bridge to the U.S. launch ecosystem, serving both the current ISS era and the transition to commercial space stations. Starlab, a U.S.-led, global joint venture among Voyager Technologies, Airbus, Mitsubishi Corporation, MDA Space, Palantir Technologies, and Space Applications Services, is building a next-generation space station and ecosystem, designed to provide a new industrial park in low Earth orbit after the retirement of the ISS. Through the Starlab joint venture ecosystem, customers can already conduct research aboard the ISS and establish a direct pathway to Starlab once the station becomes operational.

By the end of 2030, Dübendorf airfield site close to Zurich is set to develop this gateway into an established European end-to-end system open to companies, start-ups, and research institutions. It will integrate ground-based development, flight and microgravity qualification, direct access to orbital missions, and a transatlantic bridge for business and investment.