Skip to main content
  • Global
  • Markets
  • Career
  • Investor
  • Journalist
  • Customer Online
en
  • English
  • Français
  • Countries
    • Americas
      • Latin America
      • Brazil
      • Canada
      • Mexico
      • United States
    • Asia Pacific
      • Australia
      • China
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Japan
      • Malaysia
      • New Zealand
      • Republic of Korea
      • Singapore
      • Thailand
      • Vietnam
    • Eurasia
      • Turkey
    • Europe
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Denmark
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Greece
      • Hungary
      • Italy
      • Netherlands
      • Norway
      • Poland
      • Portugal
      • Romania
      • Spain
      • Switzerland
      • United Kingdom
    • Middle East & Africa
      • Africa
      • Egypt
      • Jordan
      • Morocco
      • Oman
      • Qatar
      • Saudi Arabia
      • South Africa
      • United Arab Emirates
  • Defence and Security
    • Air forces
      • Contact us
      • Supplier Online
      • Advanced Air Defence
      • Combat Systems
      • Defence Onboard Electronics
      • C4ISR
      • Command and Control Centres - Air Operations
      • Mission and Surveillance Systems
      • Radars and Sensors
      • Weapon systems & munitions
      • Airborne Optronics
      • Services for air forces
      Quick links
      • Land forces
        • Optronics
        • Command & Control C4ISR
        • Soldier Communications
        • Soldier Optronics
        • Weapon systems & munitions
        • Vehicles
        • Helicopter
        • Force protection and border surveillance
        Quick links
        • Naval forces
          • Above water warfare
          • Underwater warfare
          • Services
          • C4ISR
          Quick links
          • Joint Systems
            • Command and Intelligence
            • Ground stations and terminals
            • Electronic warfare
            • RF & Microwave Sources for Defence
            Quick links
            • Training Solutions
              • Military training solutions
              Quick links
              • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles systems
                • UCAV
                • Male
                • Tactical UAV
                • Mini UAV - Land
                • Mini UAV - Sea
                • Mini UAV for Security
                Quick links
                • Mission-critical communications
                  • Defence Cloud
                  • Satellite Communications
                  • Tactical Networks
                  • Infrastructure Networks
                  • 4G for critical-missions
                  • Customer Service & Support
                  • Industrial Marketplace
                  • Words of Leaders
                  Quick links
                  • Radio Communications
                    • Electronic Warfare Communications
                    • Land Communications
                    • Naval Communications
                    • Aeronautical Communications
                    • SATCOM Terminals
                    Quick links
                    • Critical Information Systems and Cybersecurity
                      • Operational Cybersecurity Centres
                      • Cyber Threat Intelligence
                      • Trusted Probe
                      • Cloud and outsourced IT services for critical information systems
                      • Cybersecurity Consulting and Evaluation
                      • Trust management
                      • Mobile Security
                      • Secure Networks
                      • Secure multimedia platforms
                      • Software Solutions
                      • Transformation for Better Competitiveness
                      • Military information security
                      • Augmented reality and virtual reality
                      • Data protection, Vormetric
                      Quick links
                      • Protection Systems
                        • Security Digital Platform
                        • Major events
                        • State
                        • Smart and Safe City
                        • Critical Infrastructures
                        • Airports
                        • CBRNe solutions
                        Quick links
                      • Digital Identity and Security
                        • Banking & Payment
                        • Big data Analytics
                        • Enterprise & Cybersecurity
                        • Government
                        • IoT
                        • Mobile
                        • Software Monetization
                        • Thales Digital Factory
                      • Aerospace
                        • Air Traffic Management
                          • Contact us
                          • Automation
                          • NAVAIDS
                          • Surveillance
                          • Services
                          • Better Skies Together
                          • Unmanned Traffic Management
                          Quick links
                          • Flight deck, avionics equipment & functions
                            • Avionic System Integrator
                            • Contact us
                            • FlytX
                            • Thales Synthetic Vision System (SVS)
                            • TopMax
                            • Flight Control system and computer for Fly-by-Wire aircraft
                            • Thales autopilot solutions for aircraft and helicopter
                            Quick links
                            • Flight Avionics
                              • Commercial Avionics
                              • Contact us
                              • Military Avionics
                              • Helicopter Avionics
                              Quick links
                              • InFlyt Experience
                                • Contact us
                                • In-Flight Entertainment
                                • Connectivity Services
                                Quick links
                                • Electrical Systems
                                • Training solutions
                                  • Contact us
                                  • Military aircraft flight and mission training
                                  • Helicopter flight and mission training
                                  • Training services
                                  • Helicopter training & services
                                  Quick links
                                  • Navigation solutions
                                  • Thales Support & Services
                                    • Aerospace Trading
                                    • Contact us
                                    • Digital solutions for aircraft operations
                                    • Avionics equipment maintenance, repair and overhaul
                                    Quick links
                                  • Space
                                    • Space to connect
                                    • Space to explore
                                    • Space to secure and defend
                                    • Space to observe & protect
                                    • Space to travel & navigate
                                    • Digital transformation & innovation
                                  • Transport
                                    • Signalling
                                      • Signalling Solutions for urban mobility
                                      • Signalling Solutions for main line rail
                                      • Autonomous Train
                                      Quick links
                                      • Communications & Supervision
                                        • Communications & Supervision for Urban Mobility
                                        • Communications & Supervision for main line rail
                                        • Data Driven OCC
                                        Quick links
                                        • Fare Collection Management
                                          • Ticketing & Revenue Collection for Urban Rail
                                          Quick links
                                          • Services
                                            • Lifetime Support
                                            • Mid-life Upgrades
                                            • Network & Operations Management
                                            Quick links
                                            • Railways Digitalisation
                                              • Cybersecurity for the railways infrastructure
                                              • Smart Infrastructure
                                              • Autonomous Train
                                              • Data Driven OCC
                                              • Digital Services
                                              • Connected Journeys
                                              Quick links
                                              • Cybersecurity for the railways infrastructure
                                              • Main Line Rail
                                                • Contact us
                                                • Supplier Online
                                                • Signalling solutions for main line rail
                                                Quick links
                                                • Urban Mobility
                                                  • Signalling solutions for urban mobility
                                                  • Communications & supervision for urban mobility
                                                  • Ticketing & Revenue Collection
                                                  Quick links
                                                • Market-specific solutions
                                                  • Lasers
                                                    • Contact us
                                                    • Supplier Online
                                                    • Industry applications
                                                    • Science applications
                                                    Quick links
                                                    • Microwave & Imaging Sub-Systems
                                                      • Radio Frequency & Microwave sources
                                                      • Medical Imaging
                                                      Quick links
                                                      • Mobile Satellite Services
                                                      • Training Solutions
                                                      • Microelectronics solutions

                                                    Search form

                                                    Search

                                                    You are here

                                                    • Home
                                                    • Markets
                                                    • Space

                                                    Space to Explore

                                                      Venus, Mars, Mercury, Saturn, the Moon, asteroids and comets… Thales Alenia Space is a major partner in Europe’s fantastic missions across the Solar System.

                                                       Exploring the Solar System & understanding the universe

                                                      Thales Alenia Space is the overall prime contractor for the ExoMars mission, and a major contributor to the BepiColombo mission to explore Mercury, the most mysterious planet in the Solar System. The company lead the Herschel & Planck science mission, deploying the largest space observatories ever developed in Europe. We also developed Corot, France’s own low-orbit “exoplanet” hunter (planets outside the Solar System), and we will be heavily involved in a new program called PLATO, also tasked with tracking exoplanets, but from the Lagrange 2 point.

                                                      Thales Alenia Space built 25 of the 64 huge parabolic antennas (Europe’s contribution) for the giant ALMA radiotelescope array located on the Atacama plateau in Chile. In addition, we played a lead role on the famous Rosetta-Philae comet mission [especially via assembly, integration and testing of the spacecraft], as well as on Cassini-Huygens.
                                                      The Huygens space probe was built by Thales Alenia Space as prime contractor. Also on the agenda at Thales Alenia Space is the European program Euclid, which will help us better understand dark matter.

                                                      In the meantime, Europe is holding its breath in the run-up to the ExoMars 2020 mission. ESA’s rover on this mission should touch down on Mars in 2021.
                                                      Fitted with a special drill built by Leonardo near Milan, the rover will take soil samples at a depth of two meters, in an attempt to discover evidence of past life (bacteria), while the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), launched in 2016, continues its mission in orbit around Mars, “sniffing” the Martian atmosphere to discover traces of methane gas in particular.

                                                      Living & working off Earth

                                                      The ISS holds a special place in the hearts of Thales Alenia Space engineers based in Turin, Italy. Thales Alenia Space has in fact supplied fully half of the pressurized volume on the ISS, including Nodes 2 and 3, the Multipurpose Module, Multipurpose Logistics Modules (MPLM), Cupola and the Columbus lab structure, along with ATV resupply vessels and the structure for the Bishop commercial airlock from NanoRacks.
                                                      In addition, Thales Alenia Space supplied pressurized cargo modules for the ATV and Cygnus resupply vessels.

                                                      Looking beyond the ISS, Thales Alenia Space is gearing up for lunar missions, in particular with the LOP-G (Lunar Orbital Platform Gateway), and is carrying out design studies for NASA (as part of STEP 2) and ESA. Following the success of the IXV atmospheric reentry demonstrator, Thales Alenia Space is now developing Space Rider, Europe’s new-generation, low-orbit, reusable space transport system.
                                                       

                                                      In-Orbit servicing

                                                      Thales Alenia Space is offering a brand new in-orbit servicing solution, dubbed Space START. These space vehicles will be able to carry out a wide range of operations in orbit, including controlled reentry of space debris, robotic manipulation, extending a satellite's service life, in-orbit refueling, inspection, etc.
                                                      These vehicles will mark a real paradigm shift from a “stationary” to a “dynamic” space environment. If we ever start building lunar bases, in-orbit servicing could prove invaluable, especially for transporting the various components to be assembled. And Thales Alenia Space is naturally at the cutting edge of this trend.

                                                      40%
                                                      of the ISS manufactured by Thales Alenia Space

                                                      .

                                                      • Defence and Security
                                                      • Digital Identity and Security
                                                      • Aerospace
                                                      • Space
                                                      • Transportation
                                                      • Market-specific solutions
                                                      Social networks
                                                      • Linkedin
                                                      • Twitter
                                                      • Facebook
                                                      • Youtube
                                                      • Pinterest
                                                      • Rss
                                                      Contact us
                                                      Thales Headquarters

                                                      +33 (0) 1 57 77 80 00

                                                      Send a message Address book
                                                      • Global
                                                      • Markets
                                                      • Career
                                                      • Investor
                                                      • Journalist
                                                      • Customer Online
                                                      2019 Thales Group
                                                      • Credits
                                                      • Legal Notice
                                                      • Data Privacy
                                                      • Sitemap