Thales Alenia Space at the 2015 Dubai Airshow
Thales Alenia Space is at the Dubai Airshow in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from November 8 to 12, 2015. This international trade show and exhibition brings together major players in the aerospace sector. In recent years, the UAE has taken a growing interest in satellite-based Earth Observation and space exploration. Thales Alenia Space is building on its key contribution to UAE observation programs, such as Yahsat and Falcon Eye, to showcase its latest optical and very-high-resolution radar observation products, the Earth Observer Optical and Compact SAR, respectively.
In 2014, the United Arab Emirates created the UAE Space Agency. Especially keen on space exploration, the Emirates have come up with a major project, called Emirates Mars Mission. The project aims to send a probe planning to orbit around Mars in 2021, the same year as the UAE celebrates its 50th anniversary. The Dubai Airshow therefore offers a perfect backdrop to present ExoMars, the European Space Agency (ESA) Mars exploration program being conducted by Thales Alenia Space as prime contractor, with two missions planned, in 2016 and 2018.
Also in the spotlight at the Dubai Airshow is Stratobus, an airship that is in fact halfway between a drone and a satellite. Stratobus is being developed by Thales Alenia Space as prime contractor. It is a multi-mission stratospheric platform that can be used for a wide range of civil and military applications. Used for maritime surveillance, for example, Stratobus will be capable of detecting a suspect ship at a range of 200 km, alerting the appropriate authorities, and anticipating the risks of a pirate attack, especially on oil platforms. Four or five Stratobus airships could also be deployed to monitor 1,000 kilometers of borders, all year long and in any weather. Stratobus also has significant advantages to address the requirements of the oil and gas industry. For example, it can identify threats using a radar payload, along with sensors in visible and infrared wavelengths, offering very high resolution.
