Swissto12
SWISSto12 (St12) RF Solutions has developed, qualified and delivered three fully-integrated RF Antenna Feed Chains, manufactured with 3D printing, in various bands for the payload of Northrop Grumman’s GEOStar satellite.
The qualification program was completed in January 2024, with the three integrated feed chains delivered to Northrop Grumman for payload integration shortly after.
Swissto12 RF Solutions considers the space-qualification and shipment of the Antenna Feed Chains as a significant milestone in the availability of next-generation RF payload solutions. The components have been designed as fully-integrated monolithic assemblies – including diplexers, filters, polarisers, horn apertures, and mechanical interfaces – 3D printed as a single piece. They have been developed using SWISSto12’s proprietary Radio Frequency Additive Manufacturing (RFAM) process, which allows for design optimisation to minimise size and weight, while successfully meeting the stringent RF performance and qualification requirements established for the GEOStar-3 program.
SWISSto12 has been using additive manufacturing technology for RF applications since 2011, announcing it would 3D print antenna components for European Space Agency in 2015. Previously, RF product designs were constrained by manufacturing limitations that impacted performance, weight, size and cost competitiveness. The company’s RFAM technology is said to address many of these challenges, enabling the production of highly complex, intricate and non-conventional product designs which were previously not achievable.
“SWISSto12 is delighted to announce this first delivery to Northrop Grumman of cutting-edge Radio Frequency Antenna Feed Chains for its commercial GEOStar-3 program,” said Scott Wolf, Managing Director of St12 RF Solutions. “Our novel Radio Frequency Additive Manufacturing [technology] coupled with advanced monolithic designs enabled by 3D printing has created a new benchmark in Antenna Feed Chain size, weight, and performance. Our Radio Frequency and HummingSat geostationary SmallSat business has delivered over 200 million USD in customer orders to date, validation of our mission to push the limits of existing payload capabilities to better protect and connect every corner of the world.”
