Swiss Space Systems (S3) said it has inaugurated a subsidiary in Croatia as part of its expansion in Europe.

Zagreb-based Swiss Space Systems Croatia will play an important role in different parts of the S3 program, S3 said in a statement.

The first activities of S3 Croatia will be the ZeroG flights, to take place in Croatia in the first half of next year.

Croatia has some interesting locations for future operations as well as satellite launches and, in the longer term, suborbital passenger flights.

A project for a spaceport in Croatia, based on the concept of the S3 Spaceport to be built in Switzerland, is in its early stage, with possible location in Ubdina.

The Croatian unit of S3 will be also involved in the development of the upper-stage rocket booster of S3 system and its assembly, creating highly skilled jobs in the country. The upper-stage is currently being developed and designed by S3 at its Swiss headquarters with the help of its Russian partner RKK Energia, which is providing its propulsion systems.

Upper stages propel payloads on interplanetary trajectories, or into orbits higher than could otherwise be reached using a rocket booster. Often, upper stage engines can be restarted several times while in space.

In Europe, S3 already counts on a strong network of industrial and institutional partners from France, Belgium, Italy and Spain, the company said.