Intense activity for Thales Alenia Space at SATELLITE 2021

I’d like to take advantage of this major industry event currently on-going to take a closer look at market trends and share with you the latest updates on our current programs.

A dynamic institutional market and a versatile commercial one

The government market is once again on the upswing, propelled by major exploration programs - Mars and the Solar System -, the planned return of humans to the Moon and the commercialization of low Earth orbit, including the private space station AXIOM, for instance. Thales Alenia Space, as the world’s leading producer of pressurized habitable modules and a major contributor to exploration missions, is playing a key role in all of these large-scale programs.

The market for geostationary communication satellites experienced a major crisis in 2017-18, but has now rebound, although at a lower level than in the past. In addition, this trend is complemented by contributions from satellite constellations which address the market’s requirements for constant connectivity, global coverage and low latency. Furthermore, their development is being driven by the emergence of new applications, such as the Internet of Things, space surveillance from space, 5G, Earth observation with high revisit rates... Constellations and Geostationary satellites address complementary needs and major operators are increasingly relying on new GEO solutions providing resilience and carrying high-capacity or flexible missions, while constellations ensure global coverage.

Thales Alenia Space, a unique expertise for constellations

Our company has already built three major constellations under its prime contractorship: Globalstar 2, O3b and Iridium NEXT. Based on this proven expertise, we were chosen by Canadian operator Telesat early this year as prime contractor for Lightspeed, a constellation with 298 satellites. Last month, Telesat confirmed that it would receive a C$1.4 billion from the Canadian government in support of the Lightspeed project, that will be the world’s most advanced LEO satellite constellation. We were delighted to hear this excellent news.

Telesat’s Lightspeed also confirms Thales Alenia Space’s position as the key reference manufacturer for telecom satellite constellations, capable of delivering high-end services for mobile connectivity (maritime and aeronautical), 4G and 5G links, government networks and business communications. As announced in June, the Optical Inter Satellite Links onboard Lightspeed will also be provided by Thales Alenia Space, through its advanced Optel-C product. Optical Inter Satellite Links will allow Lightspeed to provide global, mesh coverage around the world, including above the oceans and poles, with a high level of security for end-to-end services.

Focus on Space INSPIRE: a software-defined system for shaping the future

Our customers are increasingly facing an imperative need to offer advanced new services and seize new commercial opportunities at any given moment. Based on a new medium-size platform, the Space INSPIRE solution is software-defined, ultra-flexible and fully reprogrammable in orbit, including for coverage zones. With our new product line, digital technology and flexibility allow satellite operators to dynamically allocate capacity where and when needed, in any bandwidth.

These digital spacecraft herald the new age of the Geo industry, giving the top-to-toe flexibility needed to completely reconfigure a spacecraft in-orbit. Because these satellites are entirely customized by software, they can be reproduced as standard, and benefit from the kinds of production techniques used to build constellations. This means we can offer our customers lower prices and shorter delivery schedules. And they can even share a ride with other spacecraft on board the launcher.

At Thales Alenia Space we have partnered with the French and European Space Agencies to develop Space INSPIRE. Typically, Space INSPIRE satellites can support broadband connectivity, video contribution and video distribution.

Satellites, the solution to address major societal and environmental challenges

Connectivity demand is continuing to rise, along with the need to protect national assets. Other major challenges include environmental management and monitoring our planet (climate change, natural disasters, etc.), while reducing the digital divide. Satellite-based solutions really come into their own during crises, whether for pandemics, natural disasters or conflicts. Satellites already play a major role today, and this role can only grow at the light of the new trends.

Some updates from Thales Alenia Space’s clean rooms

EUTELSAT KONNECT VHTS: very-high-throughput satellite connectivity across Europe

The payload for the EUTELSAT KONNECT VHTS satellite was delivered last month from our Toulouse plant to our Cannes facility in August. Since then, the payload and platform were successfully mated. EUTELSAT KONNECT VHTS will be the largest satellite we’ve ever built. Once completed, it will stretch as tall as a 3-story building and weigh 6,5 metric tons, or 14,300 pounds. It will be the most powerful communications satellite ever built in Europe, providing broadband Internet access, especially in currently isolated regions, offering performance and costs on a par with fiber networks.

SES-17: delivering connectivity on land, at sea, in the air

SES-17 is a geostationary communications satellite designed to give SES customers high-speed connectivity as well as a high degree of flexibility no matter where they operate: on land, at sea, or in the air.

It’s the first SES satellite to feature an all-digital payload, based on a powerful digital transparent processor (DTP). SES and Thales Alenia Space teamed up to optimize the new-generation payload, making the satellite even more attractive to customers in the highly competitive mobility market, as well as in other booming B2B markets. The satellite’s coverage zone will span from the Americas, to the Caribbean including the Atlantic Ocean.

SES-17 is the new flagship of the SES fleet. It will also be used to supply in-flight multimedia services through Thales’ FlytLIVE system, allowing airline passengers to enjoy WiFi in the air, just like at home. The satellite has already undergone a number of tests and is now in final configuration in Thales Alenia Space’s clean rooms in Cannes.

COSMO-SkyMED Second Generation: the state-of-the art of radar-based Earth Observation

COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation is the first synthetic aperture radar satellite system in the world able to acquire two images simultaneously. The first satellite was launched two years ago. Its twin satellite is currently under testing in the Thales Alenia Space’s clean rooms of Rome. The system will also include two additional satellites. Thales Alenia Space?is responsible for the entire system, including both space and ground segments while Telespazio develops the ground segment and hosts the Constellation Control Center at the Fucino Space Center. The program is financed by the Italian Space Agency, the Italian Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Education, University and Research.

Thanks to the technological innovations and new solutions introduced in the space and ground segments, this new generation will introduce even higher performance, image quality, efficiency of services and increased operational lifetime. The high agility of the system, combined with a generational technological leap, make possible a significant expansion of possible applications; that include security and territory surveillance as well as the prevention and analysis of disasters due to natural or anthropogenic causes. The four satellites are dedicated to monitor the entire Earth from space, day and night, under any weather conditions, using high-resolution X-band radars.

SWOT: an international program to monitor the climate

I can’t end this post without mentioning the French-American oceanography satellite SWOT, Surface Water Ocean Topography, now undergoing final integration and testing. The SWOT mission addresses major climate monitoring challenges. It’s a joint mission between French space agency CNES and NASA, with participation by their Canadian and British counterparts. Featuring unprecedented technological innovations, the satellite will measure the surface height of lakes and waterways, as well as flowrates in rivers, and will also study ocean dynamics, all to a very high degree of precision.

In July, the payload, which had been integrated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in the United States, was delivered to the Cannes plant of Thales Alenia Space, program prime contractor on behalf of CNES. The payload and platform were mated in August, with teams from JPL, CNES and Thales Alenia Space in attendance. It’s impossible to overemphasize the importance of a real team spirit in successfully completing such a large-scale program.

We’re especially proud of our role in this exciting mission, alongside NASA and CNES, in an attempt to pave the way for revolutionary discoveries in oceanography and continental hydrology. The program also spotlights our pioneering expertise in space-based altimetry, which reaches back to the early 1990s. Today, we’re all impatiently awaiting the launch of this satellite, scheduled for late 2022.

This program carries on the long-standing partnership between CNES and NASA, with Thales Alenia Space as the industrial partner. The partnership kicked off in 1992 with the launch of Topex-Poseidon and continued with the Jason family.

SWOT will be the first satellite fitted by design with a controlled atmospheric reentry subsystem avoiding debris generation at end-of-life. This a key point to avoid the proliferation of space debris in the near future, and it’s perfectly in line with our company’s Space for Life vision, as we believe in Space as a new horizon to build a more sustainable life on Earth.

Videos & artistic views ? Thales Alenia Space - Photos ? Thales Alenia Space/Imag[IN]