Thales Alenia Space Inaugurates State-of-the-art Space Smart Factory

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Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), has inaugurated its Space Smart Factory in Rome with a ceremony attended by Italian President Sergio Mattarella. The factory — one of Europe’s largest intelligent, digital, reconfigurable manufacturing facilities — is located at the Tecnopolo Tiburtino high-tech innovation hub in Rome.

President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, and Minister for Enterprises and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso,  were welcomed by Ambassador Stefano Pontecorvo, Chairman of Leonardo; Roberto Cingolani, CEO and General Manager of Leonardo, and Teodoro Valente, President of the Italian Space Agency (ASI). The delegation also included Philippe Keryer, SEVP Strategy, Research and Technology for Thales, Massimo Claudio Comparini, Managing Director of Leonardo’s Space Division and Chairman of the Thales Alenia Space Supervisory Board, Hervé Derrey, President and CEO of Thales Alenia Space, and Giampiero Di Paolo, Deputy CEO of Thales Alenia Space and CEO of Thales Alenia Space Italia.

The Space Smart Factory is the concrete result of an investment of over €100 million, partly financed through PNRR funds managed by the Italian Space Agency and by substantial investments from Thales and Leonardo.

The new production hub, scheduled to begin operations by year’s end with work on the Sicral 3 satellite for the Italian Defense Ministry, is based at Rome’s Tecnopolo Tiburtino — a center of technological excellence bringing together 150 companies, mostly SMEs, closely integrated with the city and its industrial landscape.

From left to right: Hervé Derrey, President and CEO of Thales Alenia Space, Ambassador Stefano Pontecorvo, Chairman of Leonardo, Sergio Mattarella, President of the Italian Republic, Adolfo Urso, Minister for Enterprises and Made in Italy, Roberto Cingolani, CEO and General Manager of Leonardo, Giampiero Di Paolo, Deputy CEO of Thales Alenia Space and CEO of Thales Alenia Space Italia, Teodoro Valente, President of the Italian Space Agency (ASI), Massimo Claudio Comparini, Managing Director of Leonardo’s Space Division and Chairman of the Thales Alenia Space Supervisory Board, and Philippe Keryer, SEVP Strategy, Research and Technology for Thales.

“Today, Italy soars even higher. With the inauguration of this new Space Smart Factory, we are taking another strategic step to strengthen the national space supply chain and consolidate Italy’s leadership by enhancing our capacity to design and integrate next-generation satellites,” said Adolfo Urso, Minister for Enterprises and Made in Italy. “This project also stands as a concrete example of effective collaboration between the public and private sectors and of the virtuous use of PNRR funds. Italy knows how to invest with strategic vision in key sectors, generating growth and qualified employment. We are at the forefront of strengthening our technological sovereignty and projecting our industrial system into the future,” said Adolfo Urso, Minister for Enterprises and Made in Italy.

“The inauguration of this state-of-the-art facility crowns years of intense efforts by Italian Space Agency and completes the network of facilities operating throughout the country for the assembly, integration and testing of satellite” said Teodoro Valente, President of the Italian Space Agency. “The Space Factory program also represents a virtuous example of public-private collaboration for the benefit of the entire national ecosystem, having effectively used the resources of the PNRR to permanently endow the country with a strategic asset. Thanks to the functionality and production capacity of this plant, Italy stands as a reference point for the realization of large satellite infrastructures in the field of Earth Observation, Telecommunications and Navigation.”

“I’m especially proud to inaugurate this new state-of-the-art facility, designed to rank among the world’s most advanced for space system production,” said Hervé Derrey, President and CEO of Thales Alenia Space. “Leveraging the latest technologies, the Space Smart Factory will enhance Thales Alenia Space’s production capacity and its global competitiveness as a leading player in Europe’s space industry. In that sense, our company will even more support European and national sovereign programs as well as the continent’s major space ambitions, including in large constellations.”

“The new space factory, an investment that looks to the future and is the result of the vision of the Italian Space Agency, institutions and the company, is a benchmark for production paradigms of the European space industry,” declared Massimo Claudio Comparini, Managing Director of Leonardo’s Space Division and Chairman of the Thales Alenia Space Supervisory Board. It is a smart factory that can be reconfigured to produce all types of satellites and constellations using the principle of serialization of activities. The site is capable of producing over 100 satellites a year in the class up to 300 kilograms in an environment integrated with the most advanced digital, robotic and interconnection technologies with the ecosystem of suppliers and partners, a fundamental asset for the growth of the space economy. This is a further stimulus for the growth of space activities in Italy and Europe.”

“Today, with deep pride and in the presence of Italy’s highest institutional authority, we inaugurated our Space Smart Factory — a modern and fully digital facility and a true technological jewel,” said Giampiero Di Paolo, Deputy CEO and CEO of Thales Alenia Space Italia. “At our Satellite Integration Center in Rome — operating at full capacity — our teams have been building some of the world’s most prestigious Earth observation, telecommunications and navigation satellites, establishing the facility as a global benchmark in satellite manufacturing. Building on this legacy, the new Space Smart Factory will serve as an additional production hub able to meet the growing demand for future constellations, while reducing time-to-market and marking a real paradigm shift in space asset manufacturing. This new infrastructure will also be open to the entire supply chain, including small and medium-sized enterprises, which will be able to access it as a service — a winning formula that will strengthen our country’s role in the space economy.”

About the Space Smart Factory

The Space Smart Factory will employ flexible automation and digital systems to deliver high production capacity for next-generation space systems, with a strong focus on micro and small satellites, future constellations and Thales Alenia Space’s full portfolio of modular platforms for commercial and institutional programs. It will also support the rapid refurbishment of innovative, modular, high-performance platforms for future constellations, including the European Space Agency’s ERS constellation, the Italian Space Agency’s telecommunications constellation and Leonardo’s constellation for new Earth observation services.

The Factory will use advanced digital and robotic/cobotic technologies to build satellites across multiple classes and applications. Designed to optimize capacity and reduce costs, it can manufacture more than 100 satellites per year — around two per week — with the capacity to further scale production in line with market demand. Furthermore, being part of Italy’s network of interconnected space factories, it will amplify synergies and capacities. Through its open approach to the entire supply chain and close work with academia, it will drive the development of new products and professional skills.

With modular cleanrooms and advanced digital technologies, the Space Smart Factory can be reconfigured to meet production needs, supporting the integration and testing of a wide range of satellites — from Earth observation, navigation and space telecommunications to automated and reusable vehicles and in-orbit servicing demonstrators. As a true digital hub, the center will apply cutting-edge tools and methods across every stage of satellite design, assembly, integration and testing. These include numerical modeling and digital twin technologies, virtual and augmented reality, integrated simulators connected to the supply chain and advanced automation solutions such as robots and cobots. Another advantage of the facility relies on its ability to address large constellations up to several hundred satellites.

All assembly and integration areas are now complete. This new facility will boost the Rome site’s production capacity, with plans to recruit additional highly qualified employees. Once fully operational, the Space Smart Factory will begin testing and integrating its first satellites in the new-generation cleanrooms: the Sicral 3 defense satellite, second-generation Galileo constellation satellites and new Copernicus program satellites, including ROSE-L and CIMR.

A strategic cornerstone of the facility is the Space Joint Lab — an innovative, fully flexible collaborative space strongly backed by ASI through PNRR funds. It is designed to train new professionals in space disciplines and foster the development of innovative ideas and products in partnership with SMEs, startups, suppliers, industry partners and research centers.

This new entity also brings together top expertise in aerospace and industrial disciplines from academic institutions such as Politecnico di Milano and the University of Rome “La Sapienza,” along with the global know-how of Accenture, a leader in digital and process innovation for the aerospace sector.

The entire project is guided by sustainable architecture principles, with a strong focus on energy efficiency and extensive use of renewable energy enabled by digital technologies. The building is LEED certified and equipped with rainwater recovery systems and solar panels supplying around 10% of its energy needs. It also has an installed power capacity of 4.5 MW, supported by a redundant system to guarantee 24/7 operational continuity.

The facility was designed by eos s.r.l., which also supervised the project, and built by CBRE | Hitrac, a global leader in critical infrastructure technologies and lifecycle services for advanced technology systems. Leonardo Global Solutions oversaw the entire real estate operation — from land acquisition and procurement management to the launch of construction.