By BlueShift | 2025-06-20

US and Swiss organizations this week inked an agreement to bolster space technology and enable opportunities for innovation, investment and international growth.

Space Florida, the US state's aerospace economic development agency, on Tuesday (June 17) signed a memorandum of understanding with the Center for Space and Aviation Switzerland and Liechtenstein (CSA) and Switzerland Innovation Park Zurich (IPZ).

CSA focuses on research, education and international cooperation in space and aviation and plays a key role in coordinating the strategic development of the Swiss space sector.

Meanwhile, IPZ, based in Dübendorf, Switzerland, offers more than 70 hectares of space for technology-driven research, development and entrepreneurship and seeks to strengthen the competitiveness of Switzerland as a business and research location.

The memorandum is aimed at establishing a formal corridor to accelerate the global space economy by connecting Florida's aerospace infrastructure with Switzerland's leadership in precision engineering and advanced research, Space Florida said in a statement.

The collaboration will focus on biotechnology, biomedicine, robotics, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing and material science, it said.

The agreement seeks to open the flow of space technologies, increase investment opportunities and support commercial growth across their respective regions.

"This is more than partnership -- it's about progress. It marks the start of real, measurable action to build a global network of ports for research, trade, talent and innovation," said President and CEO of Space Florida Rob Long.

"Together we're mobilizing resources to create a seamless space commerce corridor for innovation, creating new trade flows, and a stronger global space ecosystem with Florida at the center."

Logistics and trade

Under the memorandum, Space Florida, CSA and IPZ are set to develop a logistics and trade hub that would establish Florida as the primary launch point into the Western hemisphere.

The effort involves "strengthening aerospace supply chains, expanding commercial cargo operations and fostering greater access to dual-use technologies and space-enabled services," the statement said.

"Establishing a European Space Hub for Space Florida enables the integration of the Greater Zurich Area up to the Rhine Valley into the global value chains of the space industry," Oliver Ullrich, chairman of CSA and director of the UZH Space Hub, said in the statement.

Setting up the hub "requires highly qualified talents and young professionals from various disciplines and universities," added Elisabeth Stark, a CSA board member and vice president of research at the University of Zurich.

"Through the CSA's academic partners, we offer Space Florida precisely this critical access."

The agreement stresses support for early stage and scaling companies in aerospace and deep tech.

The collaboration will accelerate the development of next-generation technologies for both civil and commercial applications "through shared access to testing and prototyping infrastructure and coordinated commercialization efforts," the statement said.