SwissTechNova and Space Systems Innovation Platform SSIP will work together

What is the Space Systems Innovation Platform (SSIP)?

The Space Systems Innovation Platform, known as SSIP, positions itself as a connective hub between space agencies, commercial launch and orbital infrastructure providers, research institutions and industrial partners who want to bring terrestrial products and processes into microgravity. Rather than building rockets itself, SSIP's role is to lower the barriers for organisations that want to run experiments, pilot manufacturing processes, or validate new materials in orbit — matching them with the right facilities, funding pathways and technical partners. This "platform" approach mirrors what is happening across the wider space economy: as launch costs fall and orbital access becomes more routine, the bottleneck shifts from getting to space to knowing how to design, qualify and scale a project once you're there.

Why SwissTechNova and SSIP are working together

SwissTechNova was built on the idea that ambitious, technically demanding projects need two things at once: architectural and engineering imagination, and disciplined project execution. That combination is exactly what translates across from terrestrial engineering projects to space-enabled ventures. In-space manufacturing, orbital laboratories and payload qualification programmes push materials, tolerances and safety margins to their limits: every interface has to be defined with precision, every process validated against exacting standards, and every failure mode anticipated long before hardware is built. These programmes face the same fundamental challenges as the most demanding industrial builds — rigorous feasibility analysis, systems engineering, risk management, budget and schedule control, and full qualification before anything is cleared for operation — but with far tighter margins for error. That precision is familiar territory for SwissTechNova: Pascal Cornuez brings years of experience on a rocket development programme and its industrialisation, including work on the Vulcan space vehicle, where launch hardware must be engineered, qualified and produced to uncompromising standards.

Through this partnership, SwissTechNova brings its experience in full-cycle project management — from feasibility and design through development and testing, and on to industrialisation with construction, qualification and validation (CQV) — together with portfolio and risk management, to organisations working with SSIP on ground infrastructure, test facilities and industrial-scale applications of space-derived processes. Beyond project delivery, SwissTechNova can also contribute engineering and architectural knowledge to help bring vehicle, capsule and microgravity-laboratory design solutions to life. SSIP, in turn, gives SwissTechNova and its clients a direct line into the network, expertise and opportunities that define this emerging industry.

Why the space economy matters now

The numbers explain why this is more than a symbolic partnership. Morgan Stanley projects the overall space economy will exceed $1 trillion by 2040, and in-space manufacturing alone has already reached a market value of over $800 million globally, fuelled by both commercial investment and government funding. These are not distant, speculative figures — they reflect real programs already running today, many of them built around the unique physical conditions available only in microgravity.

Space-enabled pharmaceutical development alone is projected to generate between $2.8 billion and $4.2 billion in future revenues.

Industry market projections cited by SwissTechNova and SSIP

Microgravity: a genuine industrial advantage

The reason pharmaceuticals and advanced materials are early leaders in this space is physical, not speculative. On Earth, gravity-driven convection and sedimentation limit how proteins and crystals form. In microgravity, that interference disappears, allowing proteins to form larger, purer, and more uniform 3D crystals than is possible in any terrestrial lab. This matters enormously for drug development, where crystal quality directly affects the stability, purity and effectiveness of a formulation.

This isn't theoretical. Merck used International Space Station experiments to reformulate the cancer drug Keytruda into a stable injectable version — work that secured FDA approval and demonstrated, in practical terms, that microgravity research can produce outcomes that reach real patients. It's a clear example of how orbital infrastructure can feed directly back into industries with strict engineering, safety and regulatory standards — the same discipline SwissTechNova applies to its own qualification and validation work on Earth.

Industries that stand to benefit

While pharmaceuticals currently lead the headlines, the SwissTechNova–SSIP partnership is designed with a broader set of sectors in mind:

• Pharmaceuticals and biotech — protein crystallisation, drug reformulation and stability testing benefit directly from microgravity conditions.
• Advanced materials and manufacturing — fibre optics, semiconductors and alloys can be produced with fewer defects when gravity-driven imperfections are removed.
• Industrial infrastructure and facilities — ground stations, cleanrooms, test benches and qualification facilities require the same rigorous project delivery SwissTechNova applies to complex architecture and engineering projects.
• Investment and portfolio strategy — organisations evaluating early positions in the space economy need structured risk and portfolio management approaches, not just technical enthusiasm.

Key takeaways