Swiss Space Office
Swiss Space Office (SSO) is the national space program of Switzerland.[1] It was roughly the 16th highest funded public space agency with a budget of about 110 million USD in the early 2000s.[2] According to Jane's, the SSO is "the administrative unit charged with planning and implementing Swiss space policy", which was defined by the Swiss Federal Council.[3] Located at the SSO facilities is part of the Federal Space Affairs Commission (CFAS) and a chair of the Interdepartmental Committee for Space Affairs (IKAR).[3] Switzerland is also a member of the European Space Agency (Europäische Weltraumorganisation), providing 3.30% of the ESA budget in 2005.
In addition to the SSO, there is also the SER (State Secretariat for Education and Research). The SER and SSO are public organizations of space activities in Switzerland.
Claude Nicollier is a Swiss Astronaut and has been on several missions with the United States space program in the 1990s and is also a member of the European Astronaut Corps. By 2007 he had retired from Swiss space missions to become a professor at EPFL.[4] Switzerland's Marc Bertschi became the head of the ESA launcher program in 2007.[5]
Areas of focus:[6]
- Earth Observation
- Space Industry / Technology
- Space Navigation
- Space Science
- Human Spaceflight, Exploration and Microgravity
- Launchers
- Education Activities
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[edit] Manned space missions
U.S.-Swiss Space Shuttle missions. 
- STS-46 in 1992. European Retrievable Carrier EURECA Atlantis
- STS-61 in 1993. Hubble Servicing Mission 2 Endeavour
- STS-75 in 1996. TSS-1R Italian mission Columbia
- STS-103 in 1999. Hubble Servicing Mission 3A Discovery
[edit] Swiss & space technology
Selected examples of Swiss contributions to space exploration and technology.[7]
- Omega Speedmaster, worn by Buzz Aldrin on the moon, and standard equipment for NASA astronauts.
- Solar sail developed at Bern University used by the Apollo Program to measure solar wind on moon.
- ESA Ariane rocket uses Swiss RUAG Space payload fairings.
- Genesis probe sample return analyzed at Federal Institute of Technology at Zurich.
- NASA Mars Pathfinder rover used Swiss Maxon motors.[8][9]
- University of Neuchatel contributed to the Mars Phoenix (spacecraft)
[edit] Offices
Swiss Space Office.[10]
Hallwylstrasse 4 Bern 3003 Switzerland
[edit] Budget
In 2006, Switzerland is contributing CHF 140 million ($116 million) to Esa's budget, or around 3.4 per cent.[8] In 2005, the Swiss space industry's turnover was CHF 170 million.[8]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Swiss Space Office SSO Switzerland". Worldofaerospace.googlepages.com. http://worldofaerospace.googlepages.com/Swiss-Space-Office-SSO.htm. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
- ^ "List of space agencies - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia". En.wikipedia.org. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_space_agencies&oldid=278376210. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
- ^ a b http://www.janes.com/articles/Janes-Space-Systems-and-Industry/Swiss-Space-Office-SSO-Government--Ministry--Agency-Switzerland.html
- ^ EPFL press release: Claude Nicollier nommé professeur ordinaire de technologies spatiales, 28 March 2007.
- ^ http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/top_news/detail/Swiss_takes_over_as_space_agency_s_rocket_man.html?siteSect=106&sid=7508137&cKey=1171208585000 February 11, 2007 - 10:34 AM Swiss takes over as space agency's rocket man
- ^ http://www.sbf.admin.ch/htm/themen/weltraum_en.html
- ^ http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/multimedia/picture_gallery.html?siteSect=15075&sid=7323105 Swiss in space swissinfo.ch
- ^ a b c http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/front/Swiss_technology_travels_to_outer_space.html?siteSect=106&sid=7447116&cKey=1169219882000&ty=st
- ^ Swiss technology powers Mars mission swissinfo.ch 20 February 2002
- ^ http://telecom.esa.int/telecom/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=19428
[edit] External links
[edit] Further reading
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