Thales Alenia Space (TAS) is a European spaceflight services joint venture between the French technology corporation Thales Group (67%) and Italian defense conglomerate Leonardo (33%). It forms one half of their Space Alliance along with Telespazio which is also owned by Leonardo (67%) and Thales (33%). TAS is headquartered in Cannes, France.
It provides space-based systems, including satellites and ground segments, used for telecommunications, navigation, earth observation, space exploration and scientific purposes. The company is a major industrial participant in the International Space Station (ISS), having produced numerous pressurized modules including the Cupola, the Harmony and Tranquility nodes, the Columbus laboratory and for the Cygnus cargo spacecraft. It is a key contributor to Galileo, a European global satellite navigation system, being responsible for the ground segment in particular. In 2021, the company was also awarded a contract by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Commission to build 6 of the 12 new Galileo Second Generation satellites. The company is also an important industrial partner towards development of the Lunar Gateway.
TAS has 17 industrial plants in Europe as well a joint venture in the United States, Leostella. This JV with the Seattle-based company, BlackSky Global, is mostly dedicated to the development of the BlackSky Pathfinder-1 high revisit optical constellation.
Plans have been announced to merge TAS, Telespazio and the Space Systems and Space Digital divisions of Airbus Defence and Space into a new joint venture owned by Airbus (35%), Leonardo (32.5%), and Thales (32.5%). The combined entity would have had an estimated annual turnover of €6.5 billion. If approved by regulators, the new company is expected to be operational in 2027.
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History
Thales Alenia Space was formed following Thales Group's decision to acquire Alcatel's shares in two existing Franco-Italian joint ventures with Finmeccanica: Alcatel Alenia Space and Telespazio.
Alcatel Alenia Space was established on 1 June 2005 through the merger of Alcatel Space and Alenia Spazio. The new company was owned by Alcatel-Lucent (67%) and Finmeccanica (33%). Its creation coincided with Alcatel taking a 33% stake in Finmeccanica's existing Telespazio subsidiary, which was combined with Alcatel's Space Services and Operations business.
On 5 April 2006, Alcatel announced plans to sell its stakes in both Alcatel Alenia Space and Telespazio to Thales. The European Commission approved the transaction on 10 April 2007 following a competition review. The same day, Thales announced the creation of a new space alliance with Finmeccanica.
According to a statement by Thales UK chief executive Alex Dorrian issued during 2007, Thales Alenia Space has actively sought out opportunities for both partnership and acquisition amongst other space enterprises. In December 2007, it was announced that Thales Alenia Space and Russian satellite specialist NPO PM have agreed to develop the new Express-4000 multi-mission satellite bus, which incorporates Russian equipment with a Thales-built payload. Since then, Thales Alenia Space has developed subcontracting relationships with North American aerospace companies, including Ball Aerospace and Boeing.
Activities
Thales Alenia Space is a major European satellite specialist. These satellites range in purpose, from telecommunications to navigation, Earth observation and space exploration, including science and orbital infrastructures. Since 2007, the company has been regarded as the largest satellite manufacturer, in both the civilian and military sectors, in Europe.
In the mid-1990s, the United States stopped issuing export licenses for satellite components that will be launched on Chinese rockets, fearing that such launches would help China's military. In response, Thales Alenia developed a line of ITAR-free satellites that contained no restricted U.S. components. Between 2005 and 2012, numerous ITAR-free satellites, such as Apstar 6, Chinasat-6B, and Apstar 7, were launched on Chinese Long March launch vehicles. However, the United States Department of State disputed the ITAR-free status of these satellites, issuing a US$8 million fine to the American company Aeroflex for selling ITAR components. During 2013, Thales Alenia decided to discontinue its ITAR-free satellite line.
A major proportion of Thales Alenia Space's business is centered around the production of communications satellites, in which it is a world leader. During 2010, Thales Alenia Space received a US$2.9 billion fixed-price contract to manufacture a total of 81 satellites for Iridium Communications' NEXT satellite telephony network. It is also engaged in producing a separate batch of 24 satellites for Globalstar's second generation network. The company is also responsible for producing 6 satellites for Galileo second generation, a European global satellite navigation system (GSNS).
The company constructed the Multi-Purpose Logistics Modules, which were used to transport cargo inside the Space Shuttle orbiters. Thales Alenia Space also built several modules for the International Space Station (ISS): the Cupola, the Columbus structure, Harmony, Tranquility and Leonardo. After the American aerospace corporation Boeing, Thales Alenia Space was the second largest industrial provider to the ISS. It also built the pressure vessels for the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) and Cygnus spacecraft. During the 2010s, Thales Alenia Space manufactured the Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV), a prototype suborbital spaceplane intended to validate work towards reusable launcher systems, acting as a stepping stone towards the Programme for Reusable In-orbit Demonstrator in Europe (PRIDE program) and the consequential Space Rider that harnesses IPX technology. It has also engaged with other space exploration efforts, such as proposed lunar cargo landing vehicle.
Locations
In 2021, Thales Alenia Space had 8,000 employees operating in 17 industrial sites located in nine European countries (France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Luxembourg):
Cannes, France (also hosts the company's headquarters in the Cannes Mandelieu Space Center)
Toulouse, France
Rome, Italy (Saccomuro and Tiburtina)
Turin, Italy
L'Aquila, Italy
Gorgonzola, Italy
Charleroi, Belgium (Thales Alenia Space ETCA (acronym of « Études Techniques et Constructions Aérospatiales ») )
Leuven, Belgium
Hasselt, Belgium
Madrid (Tres Cantos), Spain
Stuttgart (Ditzingen), Germany
Harwell, United Kingdom
Bristol, United Kingdom
Belfast, United Kingdom
Warsaw, Poland
Zurich, Switzerland
Luxembourg City, Luxembourg (Digital Center of Excellence opened in 2021)
Executive Board
Current CEO is Hervé Derrey since February 2020, replacing Jean-Loïc Galle.