13th July 2018 - UK. Thales Alenia Space introduces a breathtaking journey into space with an immersive Space Digital Experience at Farnborough International Airshow 2018 from 16 to 22 July on the Thales Alenia Space stand in the Space Zone and in the Thales Chalet.
 

Thales Alenia Space, a Joint Venture between Thales (67 %) and Leonardo (33 %),  provides space-based solutions to meet many of the world’s growing needs for real-time connectivity, localization, observation, as well as developing instruments for scientific research to help better protect the planet or explore the Universe. Thales Alenia Space seeks to continuously innovate to develop new ways to understand how space can help provide a more sustainable life on Earth.  For example, BlackSky, a new digital platform for access to space data providing  new geospatial monitoring services, will be  showcased on the Thales Alenia Space stand in the Space Zone at the Show.

In the UK, Thales Alenia Space continues to expand its capabilities to support the growth of the UK space sector to capture £40bn of the world space market by 2030 and to be a Prime contractor in the UK for national and ESA space missions.

Thales Alenia Space in the UK makes a major contribution to the Spacebus NEO telecommunications satellite platform  as the Propulsion Centre of Competence for the whole of Thales Alenia Space. With engineering design teams in Harwell and a state-of-the-art  550m² clean room facility in Belfast, it demonstrates the world-class industrial capabilities of Thales, where the satellite modules are built before they are shipped to the integration facilities in Cannes.

Thales Alenia Space in the UK also successfully contributes to a variety of ESA programs, including the ExoMars Rover and the Broadband Radiometer, a spaceborne instrument developed as part of ESA’s ‘EarthCARE’ program  to help scientists better understand climate change.  In 2017, the UK Space Agency selected Thales Alenia Space in the UK for the assembly, integration and test for MicroCarb; a joint UK-French satellite mission scheduled for launch in 2020, to monitor source and sinks of carbon and in 2018, the company was awarded to be responsible of the assembly integration and test, and avionics test in the UK for PLATO, an ESA science programme for a mission planned in 2026.

 

Notes to Editors:

Farnborough International Airshow (FIA) is recognised as the UK’s bi-annual premier aerospace show and is host to UK and overseas visitors, civil and military delegations, VIPs, exhibitors, customers, world leading aerospace manufacturers and suppliers from across the world.

BlackSky

Thales Alenia Space, Telespazio, a joint venture between Leonardo (67 %) and Thales (33 %),  and Spaceflight Industries finalized their alliance. They will be producing 60 small Earth observation satellites, while also delivering innovative geospatial services. Thales Alenia Space and the American company Spaceflight Industries have created a 50/50 joint venture called LeoStella LLC.

According to Jean-Loïc Galle, President and Chief Executive Officer of Thales Alenia Space, “This joint venture, combining Spaceflight Industries’ high-tech platform design with Thales Alenia Space’s industrial expertise in telecom constellations, will offer production capacity exceeding the needs of the BlackSky system. Our partnership reflects the transformation strategy being applied by Thales Alenia Space to address the ‘new space’ environment, and allows us to stake out a position as a major manufacturer in the market segment for small observation satellites featuring high revisit rates in both Europe and the United States.” BlackSky offers a digital platform for access to space data, whose approach is perfectly in line with Thales's strategy in terms of data management and Artificial Intelligence.

Spacebus NEO

Thales Alenia Space has initiated the development of this very innovative telecom satellites product line  with the aim to deliver the most attractive solution for geostationary satellites to meet operators' needs in the highly competitive worldwide satcom market. This product line is supported jointly by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) ARTES program of Advanced Research in Telecommunication Systems, and France's space agency (CNES). Already 4 flight models have been ordered by commercial and institutional Customers, with a first launch scheduled in 2019.

 

About Thales Alenia Space
Combining 40 years of experience and a unique diversity of expertise, talents and cultures, Thales Alenia Space architects design and deliver high technology solutions for telecommunications, navigation, Earth observation, environmental management, exploration, science and orbital infrastructures. Governments, institutions and companies rely on Thales Alenia Space to design, operate and deliver satellite-based systems that help them position and connect anyone or anything, everywhere, help observe our planet, help optimize the use of our planet's – and our solar system’s – resources. Thales Alenia Space believes in space as humankind’s new horizon, which will enable to build a better, more sustainable life on Earth. A joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), Thales Alenia Space also teams up with Telespazio to form the parent companies’ Space Alliance, which offers a complete range of services and solutions. Thales Alenia Space posted consolidated revenues of 2.6 billion euros in 2017 and has 7,980 employees in nine countries. www.thalesaleniaspace.com

 

Thales Alenia Space – Press Contacts:

Sandrine Bielecki    
Tel: +33 (0)4 92 92 70 94    
sandrine.bielecki@thalesaleniaspace.com

Chrystelle Dugimont
Tel: +33 (0)4 92 92 74 06
chrystelle.dugimont@thalesaleniaspace.com

Cinzia Marcanio    
Tel: +39 06 41512685             
cinzia.marcanio@thalesaleniaspace.com

 

About Thales Alenia Space in the UK
Thales Alenia Space in the UK was established in 2014 with offices in Bristol, Harwell and Belfast and is a leader in propulsion systems, Earth Observation and Science mission subsystems, and next generation payloads for telecoms, military satellites and UK satellite constellations. Thales Alenia Space in the UK is also responsible for the Broadband Radiometer – a space borne instrument, as part of the European Space Agency ‘Earthcare’ programme, which will help scientists understand and monitor global warming.

Media contact: 
Jill Hutchinson, Tel  +44 (0) 7854 959 805, jill.hutchinson@thalesaleniaspace.com