Thales Alenia Space @ GSTC 2018

2017, a record-breaking year
A total of 46 Thales Alenia Space-built satellites were launched in 2017, including the first 40 satellites in the Iridium® NEXT constellation, plus Telkom-3S (Indonesia), SGDC (Brazil), Koreasat-7 and Koreasat-5A (South Korea), Hellas Sat 3 / Inmarsat S EAN and the Mohammed VI – A satellite (Morocco). This record output clearly shows Thales Alenia Space’s ability to conduct several very different programs at the same time, while meeting all contractual commitments.
One of the best examples of the company’s capabilities is the Iridium NEXT constellation. A total of 40 satellites were orbited in 2017, and the constellation will expand to 66 operational satellites in 2018. The challenge for Thales Alenia Space was not just to deliver these 40 satellites on time. The company also had to be capable of implementing a complete end-to-end turnkey system, and ensuring that the next-generation satellites would be wholly compatible with the previous generation of low-orbit telecom satellites. The first four launches for this constellation proved that Iridium NEXT was fully compatible with the existing system, and also allowed testing initial functions. Results to date are fully in line with, or even exceed Iridium’s expectations.Focus on Sentinel-3B

A complete range of optical and radar observation systems
Intelligence, maritime surveillance, mapping, crisis management… Spaceborne systems allow users, especially governments, to deploy a number of different surveillance applications to ensure their security and independence. A growing number of countries have expressed an interest in acquiring space systems capable of independently providing high-resolution images for intelligence purposes. Thales Alenia Space draws on over 30 years of experience to offer a complete range of observation systems that meet market expectations, including optical and radar sensors, and ground user segments.
Thales Alenia Space’s new Optical Observation system, designed for applications such as surveillance, agriculture, urban development, crisis and natural disaster management, provides very-high-resolution images that meet the needs of both civil and military markets.
Stratobus, a new approach to surveillance
StratobusTM, an autonomous multi-mission stratospheric airship, is also being presented at GSTC. Perfectly complementary with satellite systems, it offers the significant advantage of not requiring a launch vehicle. StratobusTM is fully capable of meeting the needs of both defense and security forces, for instance by providing permanent surveillance of a predefined regional coverage zone. More info on Stratobus
Copyrights:
First artistic view & Stratobus: © Thales Alenia Space/Briot Sentinel-3B: © ESA/Pierre Carril Optical & Radar Earth Observation solutions: © Thales Alenia Space/Master Image Programmes