BepiColombo probe will reveal the mysteries of the smallest and least explored planet in the Solar System

October 20th, 2018 - The BepiColombo mission to explore Mercury was launched by Arianespace this evening from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana (South America). But scientists will have to be patient to discover the mysteries of the closest planet to the Sun. As they say, “all good things come to those who wait...” This time it will take seven years, on an incredible journey through the Solar System, before Mercury is in our crosshairs. No point getting hot under the collar either, since Mercury, as you probably know, is very “hot stuff” indeed. You’ll just have to cool your heels until BepiColombo reaches what Jacques Brel called the “unreachable star” in his famous song, “The Impossible Dream” (La Quête/”The Quest” in the original French).

Noordwijk, October 18, 2018 - Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), today announced the signature of a contract with the European Space Agency (ESA), acting on behalf of the European Commission (EC) and the European GNSS Agency (GSA),for the development and deployment of the next version of the ground-based Galileo Mission Segment (GMS) and the Galileo Security Facility (GSF), together known as WP2X.

Based on innovative, ultralight, flexible, high-efficiency photovoltaic modules

Cannes, October 15, 2018 - The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in United States, has chosen Thales to develop and build an operational ground station in the southwest part of the country, at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, to track Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) satellites* operating in medium Earth orbit (MEO). The ground station will receive and process 406 MHz distress beacon signals from the MEO satellites being tracked, and relay them to the US SARSAT (Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking) program’s Mission Control Center (USMCC), via US government communication links, for validation and distribution to rescue authorities. This ground station will be designated the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Southwest USA Medium-Earth Orbit Local User Terminal (SUSA MEOLUT), and will be an integral part of the MEO-based ground system operated by the USMCC.

Thales Alenia Space contributes expertise to the study of an international Mars Sample Return mission.

Cannes, October 8, 2018 - Thales Alenia Space, Joint Venture between Thales (67 %) and Leonardo (33 %), has won a contract from the European Commission to develop and build an operational ground station on La Reunion Island to track Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) satellites* in medium Earth orbit (MEO). The ground station will receive and process 406 MHz distress beacon signals from the MEO satellites being tracked, and relay them to the SAR/Galileo network via the French Mission Control Center (FMCC) at the CNES facility in Toulouse. The contract also included the procurement of the best possible hosting site for this ground station.

Thales Alenia Space is taking part in TurkmenTEL 2018, the 11th international conference on telecommunications, telemetry, information technologies and broadcasting equipment. The event, which takes place in Turkmenistan on October 10 & 11, brings together key players in these sectors and offers a prime opportunity to meet delegations from Turkmenistan and Central Asia. Thales Alenia Space will be showcasing its solutions for earth observation and high-speed satellite Internet access, along with the TürkmenÄlem52E success-story.

October 4th , 2018 – Thales Alenia Space, the joint company between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), announced today that it has signed a contract with OHB System AG for the new ESA program PLATO (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars) . OHB System AG will be the prime contractor with Thales Alenia Space as a partner. PLATO will be the third medium-class (M3) science mission in ESA’s Cosmic Vision Program, following Solar Orbiter (M1) and Euclid (M2), and preceding Ariel (M4). The satellite will be launched in 2026 for an initial mission length of 4.5 years.

Supporting Eutelsat Communications’s fixed broadband and mobile business, the KONNECT VHT satellite developed by Thales Alenia Space will have a capacity of 500 gigabytes per second, with the most powerful on-board digital processor ever put into orbit.