A new aerospace company based in Switzerland has expressed interest in collaborating with Russia's space agency on cost-efficient launches of mini-satellites.

The Swiss Space System (S3) is developing a launch system based on the Airbus A300 plane and a suborbital shuttle to launch satellites weighing up to 250 kilograms for the price of some 10 million Swiss francs ($11.3 million) or about four times less than current market prices.

"We are very interested in collaborating with Roscosmos because they have many professional experts," S3 CEO and founder Pascal Jaussi told RIA Novosti on Wednesday.

"They know about our project, and we have had preliminary contacts with Roscosmos representatives," Jaussi said.

He said the company's international network of partners and technical advisers already includes the Bauman Moscow State University of Technology and several Russian space companies.

S3 currently has 50 employees, and its global budget up to the first satellite launch in 2018 is about 250 million Swiss francs ($280 million).

S3 will showcase its innovative project in the House of Switzerland at the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, the company said.

Source: RIA Novosti