Past Gravity boosts Swiss manufacturing of photo voltaic array mechanisms
by Clarence Oxford
Zurich, Switzerland (SPX) Oct 16, 2025
Past Gravity has expanded its Swiss manufacturing capability for photo voltaic array drive mechanisms (SADMs) by doubling its manufacturing flooring space, enabling a fivefold improve in annual output from 36 to 200 models. The enlargement underscores the corporate’s rising function in supplying vital satellite tv for pc {hardware} to the worldwide house trade.
“These mechanisms permit satellites to constantly align their photo voltaic wings towards the solar for optimum energy technology,” defined Oliver Grassmann, Government Vice President Satellites at Past Gravity. “By doubling our manufacturing space we’ve elevated our manufacturing capability fivefold. We will now produce 200 mechanisms for aligning photo voltaic wings per yr as a substitute of the earlier 36. This yr alone, we’ve already delivered extra models than previously three years mixed.”
Grassmann described the event as a key milestone within the firm’s drive towards industrialized, modular, and standardized manufacturing. “We’re specializing in modular and standardized designs to assist scalability,” he added. Past Gravity is already creating the subsequent technology of SADMs designed for two-axis alignment, which can allow even better photo voltaic effectivity.
The corporate, a worldwide chief in photo voltaic array mechanisms, anticipates extra progress alternatives in america. “We promote our mechanisms worldwide, primarily in Europe and america,” Grassmann famous. “Ought to demand from the U.S. market proceed to develop, we’re ready to broaden manufacturing capability at our current facility in Titusville, Florida, the place we at the moment function a high-volume, extremely automated satellite tv for pc panel manufacturing.”
Past Gravity’s mechanisms serve platforms starting from microsatellites to giant Earth commentary and telecommunications spacecraft. They’ve been featured in quite a few high-profile missions, together with ESA’s BepiColombo mission to Mercury, NASA’s Artemis lunar program, and ESA’s Hera planetary protection mission launched in October 2024.
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