Thales Alenia Space à FIDAE au Chili
Chile offers considerable natural resources, especially for mining, and a flourishing agricultural sector. Thales Alenia Space’s new Earth-Observer Optical observation system, operating in the sub-metric optical bandwidth, is designed for agricultural, urban development and general monitoring applications, and clearly matches the country’s needs in these areas. Furthermore, since Chile is located in a seismic and volcanic zone, this type of system could also be used to attenuate the risks of natural disasters. In addition, radar imagery from the Cosmo-SkyMed system could meet the country’s requirements for fisheries monitoring and maritime surveillance.
Chile is a member of the intergovernmental Search & Rescue organization COSPAS/SARSAT, which has saved more than 37,000 lives since the early 1980s. At FIDAE, Thales Alenia Space is introducing MEOLUT NEXT, a new technology that will significantly change the current approach to Search & Rescue.
Like Brazil and Argentina, Chile has growing connectivity, HDTV and broadband Internet requirements. More than ever, Thales Alenia Space is fully committed to supporting countries seeking to develop their space programs to increase their sovereignty and independence, as reflected by successful collaborations with Argentina (partnership with ARSAT and INVAP for the construction of the country’s first three telecom satellites) and Brazil (based on the SGDC program and the current technology transfer plan).
Did you know? Thales Alenia Space already operates in Chile through the ALMA radiotelescope, for which it was prime contractor for the 25 European-built antennas. This system is operational since September 2013, after a construction and installation phase lasting eight years.
Photos copyrights: © Thales Alenia Space - © Thales Alenia Space/Master Images Programmes - © ESO