The Voyager Institute for Space, Technology and Advancement (VISTA) signed a landmark agreement with the Center for Space and Aviation Switzerland and Liechtenstein (CSA).
CSA is exceptionally well positioned to collaborate with The Ohio State University because both partners can anchor complementary parts of a globally integrated ground-and-space infrastructure envisioned within the Starlab consortium.
A non-profit consortium founded in 2024, CSA brought together 11 leading space and aviation institutions from Switzerland and Liechtenstein as a flagship initiative under the Cantonal Space Strategy.
Across the CSA network, roughly 500 staff, around 50 R&D teams and about 50 professors collaborate within a contractually integrated structure that enables shared access to talent, infrastructure, and funding.
The memorandum of understanding establishes a bridge between Ohio State and the Ohio State-centered U.S. ground segment as a key American node, while the European ground segment is built around the Innovation Park in Dübendorf.
This collaboration creates a unique, multidimensional bridge between Europe and the United States, connecting research, development, validation, operations and commercial translation along a coordinated transatlantic pipeline. With CSA’s proven end-to-end capabilities (including flight research infrastructure, life-sciences and aerospace medicine facilities, prototyping platforms, and an operational corridor to Florida) and Ohio State’s strong research base and capacity to lead a major U.S. ground segment, the Dübendorf–Ohio link can become a backbone for joint programs, accelerating scientific excellence, technology maturation, and integrated mission operations across both continents.