Madrid, June 14, 2017 - Thales Alenia Space is unveiling more than 40 innovations at its third TechnoDay exhibition, held at its Tres Cantos facility (Madrid). These innovative solutions were developed by the company’s Spanish R&D and engineering departments to meet customer needs in five main areas: digital transformation, smart systems, the Internet of Things, Factory 4.0 and open innovation.

Professionals from national and international research bodies, universities, industry and civil and military institutions are attending the exhibition. Thales Alenia Space develops key technologies to improve tomorrow’s products and services in space-based telecommunications, meteorology, terrestrial and maritime surveillance, climate change, monitoring of crops and natural resources, cosmology… and even the search for life on Mars.

R&D, a key to Thales Alenia Space’s achievements

More than 50 engineers focus on R&D full time at the Tres Cantos facility, reflecting the importance of innovation as a competitiveness driver and catalyst for export sales.

Thales Alenia Space contributes to a number of European and national R&D projects in Spain, both individually and with partners. The company’s products are widely used in export markets by commercial telecommunications operators and space and defense agencies, with a customer base that includes the world’s leading satellite manufacturers.

“Innovation is the cornerstone of Thales Alenia Space’s rise up the value chain in Spain,” said Eduardo Bellido, CEO of Thales Alenia Space in Spain. “It is a key to our strategy for growth, competitiveness and development, and also an essential part of our efforts to anticipate the challenges of the fast-evolving space market by delivering products at the cutting edge of technology.”

Space Dream, an open innovation contest

Thales Alenia Space’s open innovation drive in Spain focuses on scientific and technical R&D actions with research laboratories and innovative small businesses, as well as co-innovation with customers.

As part of this latest TechnoDay event, Thales Alenia Space has organized the first Space Dream contest, entered by 40 space professionals. In a one-day brainstorming session on Tuesday, June 13, several mixed teams of Thales customers, partners and employees competed to come up with the best idea for an application, product or business model, in several different categories. These ideas will be judged today by a jury comprising prestigious experts from the space sector, will choose the best idea in each category.


About Thales Alenia Space
Thales Alenia Space brings over 40 years of experience to the design, integration, testing and operation of innovative space systems for telecommunications, navigation, Earth observation, environmental management, exploration, science and orbital infrastructures. A joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), Thales Alenia Space also teams up with Telespazio to form the parent companies’ “Space Alliance”, which offers a complete range of services and solutions. Thales Alenia Space has built up unrivaled expertise in dual (civil-military) missions, constellations, flexible high-throughput payloads, altimetry, meteorology, and high-resolution radar and optical observation. The company capitalizes on its strong legacy, while also making innovation a key to its strategy. By offering a continuous stream of new products and expanding its global footprint, Thales Alenia Space has established its leadership in today’s fast-evolving space sector. Thales Alenia Space posted consolidated revenues of about 2.4 billion euros in 2016 and has 7,980 employees in nine countries. www.thalesaleniaspace.com

Thales Alenia Space in Spain
Thales Alenia Space is well represented in Spain and is the country’s leading space company in export markets, with over 28 years of experience in the design, development and sale of advanced space systems and equipment. It has contributed to more than 500 satellites, space probes and vehicles used in telecommunications, Earth observation, science, exploration, navigation and orbital infrastructure missions. Thales Alenia Space in Spain offers a wide range of solutions spanning the design and integration of payloads and subsystems for telecommunications, data transmission and TT&C (tracking, telemetry and command), optical observation instruments, radiofrequency equipment, data processing and digital electronics, and network management systems for the ground segment.

Thales Alenia Space Press Contact:

Sandrine Bielecki
Tel: +33 (0)4 92 92 70 94
sandrine.bielecki@thalesaleniaspace.com

Chrystelle Dugimont
Tel: +33 (0)4 92 92 74 06
chrystelle.dugimont@thalesaleniaspace.com

Oriol Casas Thió
Tel: +34 91 807 7806
oriol.casasthio@thalesaleniaspace.com