Tag Archives: Thales Alenia Space

Thales Alenia Space will supply a satellite navigation system to the South Korea’s national space agency in an effort to help enhance the country’s positioning system. The Korea Aerospace Research Institute will use the KASS system built based on Thales Alenia Space’s European Geostationary Navigation Overlay System to provide aeronautical applications and …

Orbital ATK has transported the first two next-generation Iridium satellites to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California as part of preparations for the scheduled liftoff on Sept. 19, Spaceflight Now reported Wednesday. Stephen Clark writes the satellites were shipped via truck from an Orbital ATK-run manufacturing facility near Phoenix to Vandenberg, …

A team of Thales Alenia Space and Orbital ATK has finished construction work on the first batch of communications satellites for Iridium‘s NEXT program, Spaceflight Now reported Wednesday. Stephen Clark writes the satellites are set for delivery to Vandenberg Air Force Base for fueling and mating with a SpaceX-built Falcon 9 rocket prior to the launch of …

Thales Alenia Space will provide nine more pressurized cargo modules for future International Space Station resupply missions onboard Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft under a new contract between the two companies. The companies inked the contract at the Farnborough International Airshow in the U.K. for the transportation of crew supplies and science experiments to …

Industry partners will invest in and work to develop a contract for the Thales Alenia Space-led Stratobus high-altitude platform station, Space News reported Thursday. Peter de Selding writes the French-Italian group expects to add telecommunications payloads when HAPS systems become authorized to operate in Ka- and Ku-band. “We expect to have our first …

Iridium Communications will launch the first line of its NEXT satellites from Vandenberg Air Force Base on September 12. The company said Tuesday Thales Alenia Space and Orbital ATK have completed assembly, integration and testing of the 81 satellites on the assembly line, which includes 66 operational satellites to replace the current Iridium …

Iridium Communications remains on schedule to launch the first 10 satellites of the Iridium NEXT constellation in July aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, Space News reported Friday. Peter de Selding writes the initial launch date may change by a few weeks based on SpaceX’s availability and will be followed by six …

A team led by a joint venture of Thales Group and Finmeccanica has received approximately $19.2 million in funds from the French government to conduct research and development work over two years on an autonomous airship. Thales Alenia Space will collaborate with French companies CNIM, Solutions F, Airstar Aerospace and Tronico-Alcen on …

Iridium Communications has delayed the launch of its 66-satellite Iridium NEXT constellation from April to July after the launch provider notified of delays in obtaining government approvals for the launches, Iridium CEO Matt Desch told investors Thursday. SpaceX will launch 10 Iridium NEXT satellites in December on its Falcon 9 rocket and joint Russian-Ukrainian …

Thales Alenia Space has been awarded an estimated $500 million contract to produce additional environmental monitoring and oceanographic satellites for the European Space Agency’s Earth observation program. The company will design, develop and test the Sentinel-3C and Sentinel-3D satellites under ESA’s Copernicus program headed by the European Commission, Thales Alenia Space …

An Aerojet Rocketdyne subsidiary has tested a five-kilowatt Hall Thruster in the U.K. with a Thales Alenia Space-built power processing unit. European Space Propulsion will next transfer the production capability of the XR-5 thruster from Aerojet Rocketdyne and develop the XR-5E, Aerojet Rocketdyne said Wednesday. Paul Sinton, managing director of …

Iridium Communications has rescheduled the launch of the first pair of Iridium NEXT satellites to April to provide an additional four months to address an issue with the satellite’s communications payload, Spaceflight Now reported Tuesday. Stephen Clark writes Iridium CEO Matt Desch said Oct. 29 that prime contractor Thales Alenia Space found an …

NASA has received an Orion spacecraft module test model built by an Airbus Group subsidiary for evaluation at the agency’s Plum Brook Station in Ohio. Airbus Defence and Space developed the hardware on behalf of the European Space Agency and to support a future U.S.-led manned deep space exploration mission, Airbus said …

A joint venture of Thales Group and Finmeccanica has delivered the test model of the Orion spacecraft’s European Service Module to NASA’s testing facility in Ohio for further structural design tests. Thales Alenia Space performed initial tests on the structural test model of ESM at its facility in Turin, Italy, …

A joint venture of Thales Group and Finmeccanica has secured a potential $103 million contract from Airbus to build thermomechanical platforms for the Orion spacecraft’s European Service Module. Thales Alenia Space will supply thermal control, consumable storage components, micrometeoroid and structure protection systems for the space capsule’s ESM, Thales Group said Thursday. ESM will …