2021: A Year of Major Successes for Thales Alenia Space

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Thales Alenia Space won five new contracts in 2021 as prime contractor for geostationary satellites. We will build the SICRAL 3A and 3B satellites for the Italian Ministry of Defense, the HTS 113BT satellite for the Indonesian operator Telkomsat, and the ASTRA 1P and ASTRA 1Q satellites for the operator SES. The latter two satellites are based, respectively on the all-electric Spacebus NEO platform, proven in orbit, and Space Inspire, the company’s brand new all-digital solution, highly flexible and reconfigurable in orbit in virtually real time. Thales Alenia Space ended the year on a high note with these five satellites, giving it leadership in the geostationary telecom satellite market in 2021.

Space to Travel and Navigate: 6 new satellites for the new-generation Galileo constellation and upgrades to the EGNOS satnav augmentation system ground segment

At the forefront of satellite navigation in Europe, Thales Alenia Space was chosen by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Commission to build 6 of the 12 new satellites in the second-generation Galileo constellation. Thales Alenia Space also signed an extension of the first-generation Galileo mission and security ground segment contract, to continue increasing the system’s operational capacity.
Along with its work on the Galileo satellites, Thales Alenia Space, prime contractor for Europe’s EGNOS navigation overlay system, continued to upgrade the ground system to ensure the integrity needed to address ultra-precise and reliable positioning requirements for new and highly demanding applications. These new uses include autonomous road vehicles, as well as autonomous rail and maritime transport systems. The associated high-reliability integrity and “safety of life” services are already being implemented for aviation. At the same time, Thales Alenia Space successfully carried out several flight demonstrations with ASECNA (air navigation safety agency for Africa and the Indian Ocean), in preparation for a satellite navigation system covering Africa.

Several major satellites with contributions from Thales Alenia Space were launched in 2021?

• 2 geostationary telecom satellites: SES 17 and Syracuse 4A, built by Thales Alenia Space as prime contractor for SES and the French Ministry of the Armed Forces, respectively. Both use the Spacebus NEO platform with all-electric propulsion.
• 2 Cygnus resupply vessels for the International Space Station. Since the outset of this program, Thales Alenia Space has supplied all pressurized cargo modules for Cygnus, totaling 20 to date, on behalf of Northrop Grumman.
• 3 CERES military signals intelligence (SIGINT) satellites, with Thales Alenia Space supplying the platforms.

Thales Alenia Space continues to invest in the space ecosystem, with the recent opening of a digital center of excellence, investments in satellite integration and pressurized module production at its industrial facilities, and the development of FabLabs across Europe.
A number of key capital investments were made in 2021. Thales Alenia Space expanded its European footprint by creating a digital center of excellence in Luxembourg. The Madrid plant now features a state-of-the-art satellite integration center, and Turin has doubled production capacity for pressurized modules. A new FabLab has been inaugurated in Charleroi, Belgium, along the lines of those already up and running in Toulouse, Cannes, Rome and Turin. These FabLabs are designed to stimulate employee creativity and foster an innovation-based culture across the company. Through these FabLabs, employees can submit ideas that could result in concrete improvements through both professional and personal projects.
 
Artistic views ©Thales Alenia Space/Master Image Programmes & ©Thales Alenia Space
 
About THALES ALENIA SPACE
Drawing on over 40 years of experience and a unique combination of skills, expertise and cultures, Thales Alenia Space delivers cost-effective solutions for telecommunications, navigation, Earth observation, environmental management, exploration, science and orbital infrastructures. Governments and private industry alike count on Thales Alenia Space to design satellite-based systems that provide anytime, anywhere connections and positioning, monitor our planet, enhance management of its resources, and explore our Solar System and beyond. Thales Alenia Space sees space as a new horizon, helping 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. Thales Alenia Space posted consolidated revenues of approximately 1.850 billion euros in 2020 and has around 7,700 employees in 10 countries with 17 sites in Europe and a plant in the US. www.thalesaleniaspace.com

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