In the Spotlight

Thales Alenia Space takes off for the 2024 International Astronautical Congress

In the Spotlight

Thales Alenia Space takes off for the 2024 International Astronautical Congress

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    From October 14 to October 18, Thales Alenia will take part to the 75th edition of the International Astronautical Congress, held this year in the beautiful city of Milan. This is not a coincidence if the event takes place in Italy. This year, the country celebrates the 60th anniversary of the launch of its very first satellite, dubbed San Marco 1. What a better gift than to celebrate this one-of-kind event in Italy. Our company will, for the occasion, highlight its latest technologies in the fields of space exploration, Earth observation, satellite navigation and telecommunications

    Space to Explore

    “Moonage Daydream”

    ARTEMIS

    ARTEMIS © Thales Alenia Space

    52 years after the last mission of the Apollo program, the Moon is back, more meaningful than ever. In 2022, ARTEMIS I mission was a tremendous success. The unmanned mission served to validate the proper functioning of the spacecraft. This mission prefigures Artemis II, scheduled for launch no earlier than September 2025 according to NASA, with real astronauts on board. Artemis II will orbit the moon but will not land. It will be necessary to wait until 2026, with Artemis III, so that the Humanity can again walk on the Moon.

    Also, more than 40 years ago, our teams from Turin delivered their first pressurized module, the Spacelab vehicle, a reusable laboratory developed by ESA and used on certain spaceflights flown by the Space Shuttle. 40 years later, after delivering a major part of the International Space Station’s habitable volume, we are producing nearly 80% of Lunar Gateway’s pressurized volume.

    Back to the Moon to stay

    MPH

    Multi-Purpose Habitat © Thales Alenia Space/Briot

    Concerning Lunar Gateway, we are supplying ESPRIT (Lunar Link plus Lunar View) and Lunar I-HAB pressurized modules to ESA, and the pressurized structure (as well as critical subsystems) of HALO module to Northrop Grumman. A 40-metric-ton space station, Gateway will orbit around the Moon, as part of NASA’s ARTEMIS program aiming to bring astronauts back to the Moon for long-duration missions.

    End of last year, the Italian Space Agency selected Thales Alenia Space to build a lunar Multi-Purpose Habitat that will be the first permanent outpost on the Moon. Based on domotic architecture and mobility capability, these habitats will ensure the availability of vital resources (water, power…) stored or generated on the Moon’s surface. These new infrastructures are intended to offer the crew the possibility of working in complete safety and living in a comfortable lunar environment.

    “Fly me to the Moon”

    The Moon is set to serve as a staging post and stepping stone for crewed deep-space missions, with Mars the next step on our journey. NASA has developed the Orion capsule with precisely these kinds of missions in mind. Our teams are supplying key components for the Orion spacecraft’s European Service Module, for which Airbus is the prime contractor. Teams in Turin are supplying the critical subsystems for the service modules, including the structure and protective “skin” to shield them from micrometeorite impacts, and the thermal control and fuel storage and distribution subsystems, all vital for the safety of the crew and mission.

    From pressurized modules to new space transportation systems

    axiom

    AXIOM © Axiom Space

    Our Engineers are also working on the first 2 modules of the world's first commercial space station, Axiom. Our company provides Northrop Grumman with all the pressurized cargo modules for the Cygnus vessels ferrying supplies to the ISS twice every year — food, spare parts, propellant, science experiments, tools, personal items and more. Based on this unique legacy, our company will also be building ESA’s Space Rider reusable autonomous space transportation system, which draws on the heritage of the IXV demonstrator. We are also prime contractor and co-financer of the LEO Cargo Return Service program, a reusable cargo vehicle in low orbit which will transport crews aboard manned space stations in low orbit and create a cargo transport service to and from the cislunar space station Gateway.

    Exploring the marvels of the solar system

    EUCLID

    EUCLID © ESA

    Thales Alenia Space has also contributed to numerous iconic space exploration missions across the solar system, including Cassini-Huygens (Saturn), BepiColombo (Mercury), ExoMars (Mars), Euclid to name a few. By examining billions of galaxies up to 10 billion light-years away, and covering more than a third of the sky, Euclid, unlocks a wealth of knowledge that will shape our understanding of the cosmos. Last year, space aficionados were astonished by the first full-color images delivered by Euclid. A tremendous jewel of high technology, Euclid satellite will explore dark energy and dark matter to better understand the origin of the Universe’s accelerating expansion.

    A few months ago, Euclid unveiled five unprecedented new views of the Universe. According to ESA, the never-before-seen images demonstrate Euclid’s ability to unravel the secrets of the cosmos and enable scientists to hunt for rogue planets, use lensed galaxies to study mysterious matter, and explore the evolution of the Universe.

    “Is there Life on Mars?”

    EXOMARS

    ExoMars © Thales Alenia Space/Briot

    My little finger tells me that, in the decade to come, scientists will be able to answer to David Bowie’s existential question, the one he referred to in his 1971 Honky Dory album.

    While the Thales Alenia Space-built Trace Gas Orbiter is orbiting around Mars’ atmosphere, the second ExoMars mission, set for launch from the Kennedy Space Center between October and December 2028, will explore the Martian surface in search of signs of past life, a quest that has long fascinated humanity. The mission includes a carrier module, a descend module, a landing platform including the famous Rosalind Franklin rover.

    Led by ESA with a major involvement by NASA, ExoMars 2028 will deliver a European rover capable of autonomous driving on the planet’s surface. Scheduled to reach Mars in 2030 after a long voyage, the rover, fitted with a drill developed by Leonardo, will collect soil samples by drilling into the Martian soil up to 2 meters deep and will analyze their chemical, physical and biological properties using its advanced Analytical Laboratory Drawer developed by Thales Alenia Space. One of the mission objectives is to search for subsurface bacteria, living or fossilized, which would be evidence of extant or previous life on the Red Planet.

    As prime contractor for ExoMars 2028 mission, Thales Alenia Space is responsible for designing the Entry, Descent and Landing Module (EDLM), developing its radar altimeter, integrating the Analytical Laboratory Drawer (ALD) on the rover and developing the onboard computer. We are also responsible for assembly, integration and test activities, as well as overseeing the launch campaign.

    Space to Observe & Protect

    How could we live in a world without Earth observation systems? For several decades now, Earth observation satellites—whether for oceanography, weather forecasting or environmental monitoring—are vitally important for citizens everywhere. The data they provide to the scientific community is delivering deeper insights into the climate mechanisms that govern our planet. At IAC, our teams will underline several major programs, among them Copernicus, Meteosat Third Generation and SWOT.

    Safeguarding our planet from space: Sentinels keeping watch

    copernicus esa

    Copernicus © Thales Alenia Space

    Copernicus is the most ambitious environmental monitoring program in the world, with 12 families of “Sentinel” satellites surveying Earth, its topography, seas, lakes, oceans, and polar regions. It also encompasses climatology missions and programs measuring human-induced CO2 emissions or affording new applications to foster sustainable agriculture and biodiversity. A program of this scale is a key to Europe’s ability to better anticipate the consequences of global warming so that we can safeguard our planet. The satellites and ground segments are built by European prime contractors for the European Space Agency (ESA). Thales Alenia Space is a major contributor to 11 of the 12 missions in the European Commission’s program, Copernicus. Radar-based Earth observation satellite, Sentinel-1C, will be launched by the end of the year onboard a Vega-C launcher, from French Guiana.

    Monitoring environment

    Better weather forecasting

    mtg

    MTG-I1 © Thales Alenia Space / ImagIN

    MTG-I1 is part of the MTG program that will include 6 satellites: 4 imaging and 2 sounding ones. These satellites are set to revolutionize weather forecasting and significantly improve accuracy. The imaging satellites carry lightning detectors and the sounding models will map the atmosphere in 3D. MTG-I1 captured a tremendous first image of the Earth in 2023. The same year Eumetsat and ESA unveiled the first results from Europe’s first lightning detector that were really impressive as well. Once all six MTGs are operational, EUMETSAT, the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, will offer the world’s most sophisticated weather forecasting services.

    Deep-dive insights into oceans, lakes and rivers

    swot

    SWOT © Thales Alenia Space / ImagIN

    Like MTG-I1, SWOT satellite entered into service and delivered its first images in 2023. A joint mission between CNES and NASA, SWOT measures the elevation of nearly all the water on Earth’s surface and provide one of the most comprehensive surveys yet of our planet’s surface water. Lakes, rivers, reservoirs and oceans - 90% of the Earth's surface waters can be probed thanks to this high-tech jewel. SWOT has a controlled atmospheric reentry system, so it won’t create any debris at the end of its life.

    Space to secure & defend

    View from the space of Cosmos radar satellites

    COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation ©Thales Alenia Space/Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI)

    Many countries use our space systems to gather high-precision imagery. These systems draw on our unrivalled expertise encompassing optical and radar instruments and high and very-high-resolution technology.

    Thales Alenia Space has built up long-standing and unrivaled expertise in very-high-performance observation systems calling on both optical and radar sensors. For example, we built two generations of COSMO-SkyMed radar satellites for the Italian space agency and defense ministry. The first two second-generation COSMO-SkyMed satellites were launched in 2019 and 2022 respectively, with two more satellites now under construction. Thales Alenia Space is also the exclusive supplier of very-high-resolution optical instruments for French intelligence satellites, including the optical payloads on Helios, Pleiades and CSO. Dubbed CSO-3, the third and last satellite of the CSO family will be launched in the months to come.

    The return of war in Europe has raised the question of space-based observation systems, including high-performance combined radar and optical systems. Intelligence relies on these new technologies, as deployed with the BlackSky optical observation constellation and its Iride radar counterpart, both offering high revisit rates.

    IRIDE

    IRIDE © Thales Alenia Space / Master Images Programmes

    Last year, we launched the ALL-IN-ONE Earth observation solution, the result of several decades of experience. By combining the best of our radar and optical sensors, ALL-IN-ONE is the perfect combination of optical and radar small satellites to provide high revisit and control for near real-time surveillance. End of 2023, our company was awarded a contract by PT Len Industri to build a state-of-the-art constellation of microsatellites dedicated to the Indonesian Ministry of Defence and based on ALL-IN-ONE’s combined radar and optical solution.

    Space to Travel & Navigate

    Galileo Second Generation

    Galileo Second Generation © Thales Alenia Space

    Satellite navigation systems like Galileo deliver highly accurate positioning and timing services, which are crucially important for our armed forces. They offer the accuracy needed to determine the exact position of units in the field, optimize movements and synchronize weapon systems using a single time reference.

    Thales Alenia Space developed the ground mission segment and security system for the first-generation Galileo constellation. We’re now developing the first six satellites for the second-generation constellation.

    In 2024, we signed a contract with European Space Agency to deliver an end-to-end solution for the LEO-PNT (Low Earth Orbit Positioning Navigation and Timing) orbit demonstrator. This contract includes the space (5 satellites to be launched), ground and users segments, the in orbit operations (including deorbiting), the launch, the test user segment, experimentation and service demonstration in different industries representative user environments. This constellation will work in combination with Galileo and other satellite navigation systems to provide guaranteed centimeter location accuracy, robustness, resistance against jamming and spoofing as well as low latency (very fast acquisition). LEO-PNT will thus allow to serve emerging applications as high level autonomy cars including persistent coverage in dense urban areas, unmanned aerial & maritime vehicles or 5G/6G ground telecommunication network synchronization.

    Space to Connect

    Space INSPIRE

    Space INSPIRE ©Thales Alenia Space

    The satellite communications market is in constant flux, with manufacturers developing made-to-measure solutions to keep pace with operators’ new needs. End-users’ expectations are well known: anywhere, anytime connectivity—including on the move—and access to increasing amounts of data through secured and trustful solutions that guarantee the end-to-end integrity of the connection. There is still the unresolved problem of underserved and often remote areas without sufficient communications infrastructure on the ground, where fiber most likely has yet to reach. Bridging the digital divide remains a key societal issue. Telecommunications and digital communications systems in particular, are clearly the best solution to match demand in a competitive and fast-moving market.

    Thales Alenia Space offers a range of product lines to meet the new expectations of the telecom market. Our proven Spacebus 4000 B2 platform is ideally suited to the regional requirements of telecoms operators. Based on this platform, Indonesian KOREASAT 6A satellite, will be launched in the days to come from Cape Canaveral.

    Using electric thrusters increases payload capacity, affording more flexibility for operators. Spacebus NEO is the perfect fit for very high throughput satellites (VHTS), helping bridge the digital divide across the globe. Providing fiber-like connectivity, EUTELSAT KONNECT VHTS satellite, for instance, is the most powerful telecommunications satellite ever built in Europe. It contributes to bridging the digital divide, providing Very High Speed Internet, especially in European isolated areas dubbed the white zones. We also built SATRIA satellite set to deliver high-speed Internet to the thousands of islands across the Indonesian archipelago, as well as Amazonas Nexus, an impressive bird covering the whole American continent including Greenland. 2024 will also be remembered for the launch of SES’ ASTRA 1P satellite. Based on our Spacebus Neo platform, the satellite will serve 119 million TV homes in Europe and will help ensure continuity of SES services until 2040.

    Our latest Space INSPIRE product line—an extremely flexible software-defined digital solution that can be reconfigured in orbit—will also be real revolution. Major operators entrusted Thales Alenia Space concerning this solution that will be able to adapt to the evolution of a mission. For example, an operator could ask to have Europe as a coverage zone for several years and then decide to distribute telecommunications services over Africa and the Middle-East. The satellite product line is on its way. The solution embeds numerous new technologies at the same time, such as a very powerful digital processor, active antennas, enhanced avionics and ground-breaking solar panels. The spacecraft will also be more compact while its platform will be equipped with a full-electric subsystem, as for Spacebus NEO satellites. This solution is a real game changer and our teams are dedicated to deliver the first 7 birds ordered by top telecom operators.

    Stand IAC 2024

    Eager to know more about our technologies, come and visit our teams during the event: MiCo Convention Centre, Milan, Italy - Stand MS-B11, Level 0