Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Leading innovation at the heart of the world's space ecosystem
Toulouse, September 20, 2023 - Thales Alenia Space, the joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its plant in Toulouse, France, at an event attended by representatives of the Occitanie regional authority and Toulouse municipal authority, space agencies, partners and stakeholders from the local business ecosystem.
Thales Alenia Space's French headquarters in Toulouse is the largest of its nine industrial plants in Europe. Since opening in 1983, the plant has established itself as a leader in the development and integration of leading-edge space technologies, while contributing to the growth of the local economy. Today, its 2,800+ employees work in altimetry, civil and military communication payloads and systems, satellite navigation, and ground segments.
Thales Alenia Space
In celebrating this 40th anniversary of our Toulouse plant, we're not only honoring our heritage but also the future we're building with our local partners to foster significant technological advances across the satellite industry, said Denis Allard, Toulouse plant Director. Thales Alenia Space's successes and expertise are underpinned by a New Space approach serving innovation and sustainable development. By addressing the most complex technological challenges and positioning itself in the vanguard of future space technologies like 5G, the Internet of Things (IoT) and quantum communications, Thales Alenia Space is maintaining its status as a key space player, while strengthening its ties with the city of Toulouse and contributing to local development.
A communications pioneer: from TDF2 to Space Inspire
Space INSPIRE Thales Alenia Space
Over the last 40 years, Thales Alenia Space's plant in Toulouse has established itself as a center of excellence in satellite communications. Having designed payloads for the TDF2, Eutelsat II and Telecom2/Syracuse2 satellites in the 1980s, and for Intelsat 7 and Intelsat 9 in the 1990s, the plant has already developed more than 300 payloads and is currently designing the ones of Space Inspire (INstant SPace In-orbit REconfiguration), a fully in-orbit reconfigurable product line. Space Inspire's capabilities and flexibility have been recognized by the world's leading operators, with five satellites ordered in 2022.
A trailblazer in European satellite navigation: from EGNOS to Galileo 2nd Generation (G2G)
Galileo Second Generation Thales Alenia Space
The Toulouse plant goes back to the very beginnings of satellite navigation in Europe. Having previously supplied the mission ground segment for the first-generation Galileo constellation, in service since 2016, it won the contract in July this year for the mission ground segment for Galileo 2nd Generation (G2G). The plant is also prime contractor for the current version of EGNOS (European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service), Europe's satellite navigation system that started operation in 2009. This system augments positional fixes from the Global Positioning System (GPS), and is soon set to do so for Galileo. This expertise has also brought Thales Alenia Space a series of successes in export markets, including a satellite navigation system in South Korea and numerous demonstrations in Africa.
It is also in Toulouse that Thales Alenia Space developed the MEOLUT Next solution, a ground station used to operate the COSPAS-SARSAT network's global MEOSAR search-and-rescue service. MEOLUT Next is already helping nations around the world to save lives, in the European Union, United States, Canada, Togo, Vietnam and Thailand. The system can detect and locate distress signals on land, at sea and in the air within a range of 5,000 kilometers (3,107 miles).
Thales Alenia Space in Toulouse has also leveraged its expertise in constellations and navigation systems to address new markets requiring new navigation and geolocation capabilities, such as Kineis, the first French constellation dedicated to the Internet of things (IoT), and Omnispace, for which the first two nanosatellites were orbited in 2022.
Pioneering satellite altimetry for Earth observation: from TOPEX/Poseidon to SWOT
SWOT Thales Alenia Space/Imag[IN]
Toulouse plant is a world leader in satellite altimetry for Earth observation. Since the Poseidon altimeter developed jointly with the French space agency CNES for missions like TOPEX/Poseidon, marking the advent of precision altimetry, Thales Alenia Space has become the gold standard in this field with the Jason series of satellites in partnership with NASA, the Poseidon-4 digital altimeter on the European Space Agency's Sentinel-6 satellite, the SIRAL 2 and AltiKa altimeters, and the SWIM wave spectrometer. More recently, the French-U.S. SWOT satellite (Surface Water and Ocean Topography), launched in late 2022, is revolutionizing modern oceanography and land surface hydrology with its ability to detect ocean features at ten times higher resolution than current technologies.
The Toulouse plant currently contributes to the Copernicus program, for which it is developing the IRIS radar altimeter for the CRISTAL mission and the wide-swath and NADIR altimeters for Sentinel-3 New Generation.
An innovation incubator and a New Space approach
Space Business Catalyst Thales Alenia Space/Laurent Barranco
R&D and innovation are integral to Thales Alenia Space's development strategy in Toulouse. Since 2014, Thales Alenia Space has deployed a pioneering approach centered on its Innovation Cluster, complementing its R&D efforts. This initiative has fostered disruptive intrapreneurship projects like Space Edge Computing in partnership with Microsoft, and partnerships with more than 700 startups including local firms Kin
Europe Stories
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
08/05/2025
As expected, continued weak demand from key sales markets and declining economic...
08/05/2025
A new three-part series is coming to BBC iPlayer and BBC One
(Image: The Christie Archive Trust)
The BBC has announced Agatha Christie's Endless Night, a...
08/05/2025
08 May 2025
VEON Shareholders Re-elect Board at 2025 AGM, Founder Augie Fabela ...
08/05/2025
Comedy and entertainment channel U&Dave bring back their #1 ranked programme of ...
08/05/2025
Expect even more chaos this July with Harriet Webb leading the returning cast, p...
08/05/2025
TenneT relies on Arvato Systems for market communication
Energy industry: Impressive market communication know-how and system integration expertise
G tersloh...
08/05/2025
When Taiki Hamamoto, 22, came across a Hanafuda deck at his local game shop, he was intrigued. He had grown up playing the traditional Japanese card game with f...
08/05/2025
The Liveline is now open , said Joe Duffy earlier today, as he previewed this af...
08/05/2025
RT , in association with the BBC, Screen Ireland and Cineflix Rights has reveale...
07/05/2025
Discovering music should feel effortless and fun. That's why Spotify continu...
07/05/2025
FOX Doubles Down on the Laughs Renewing Comedies Animal Control, Starring Joel M...
07/05/2025
07 May 2025
VEON's QazCode Signs MoU with Seekr to Develop AI-Powered Solut...
07/05/2025
UKTV has ordered a feature length documentary celebrating the life of Britain...
07/05/2025
Wednesday 7 May 2025
Shaun the Sheep fans are in for a baaaarilliant treat in 2...
07/05/2025
Rohde & Schwarz to highlight innovative broadcast technologies at CABSAT 2025 Rohde & Schwarz will showcase its latest energy-efficient transmitters and 5G Br...
07/05/2025
The Importance of Workflow Efficiencies in Post-Production Wednesday, 14 May
14:40
FilmLight sits down with Sam Lempp, head of business development for Nara, ...
07/05/2025
RT News is pleased to announce the appointment of RT journalist, Fergal O'Brien, as its new Business Correspondent.
In his new role, Fergal will be repor...
06/05/2025
In Colombia, music isn't just background noise-it's center stage. It'...
06/05/2025
En Colombia, la m sica no suena de fondo: es el centro del escenario. Es el cora...
06/05/2025
At Spotify, we always seek ways to connect users with their next favorite podcas...
06/05/2025
Since Spotify's 2019 launch in India, the growth of the country's local ...
06/05/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
06/05/2025
Comscore Reports First Quarter 2025 ResultsRESTON, Va., May 6, 2025 Comscore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), a trusted partner for planning, transacting and evaluating ...
06/05/2025
Live from Studio 1 at 7pm, Tuesday May 6
Iconic trad-fusion group K LA will be ...
06/05/2025
Rohde & Schwarz hosts RF Testing Innovations Forum 2025, helping design engineer...
06/05/2025
LONDON, UK, May 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today at the company s annual THINK event, IBM (NYSE: IBM) is unveiling new hybrid technologies that break down the long...
06/05/2025
Apple today introduced Tap to Pay on iPhone in Bulgaria, Finland, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Switzerland, enabling millio...
06/05/2025
Ahead of Pride Month, Apple is introducing a new Apple Watch Pride Edition Sport Band, watch face, and iPhone and iPad wallpaper to celebrate the strength and b...
06/05/2025
First episode airs this Friday at 8pm on RT One and RT Player with Doireann N Ghlac in presenting
Guests include Barry Murphy, Brooke Scullion, Bryan Dobso...
05/05/2025
As Europe gears up for the Eurovision Song Contest 2025, Spotify is celebrating the spirit of unity and musical legacy with a new series of Spotify Singles. Fiv...
05/05/2025
As part of the restructuring of its loss-making Carbon Fibers business unit, SGL Carbon has decided to close its production site in Lavradio (Portugal). Lavradi...
05/05/2025
Comscore Launches Certified Deal IDs in Magnite's SSP, Bringing Trusted Cont...
02/05/2025
Updated May 2: In a victory for consumers, artists, creators, and authors, Apple...
02/05/2025
Since 2022, Spotify and FC Barcelona have brought the worlds of music and footba...
02/05/2025
With more than 678 million users worldwide tuned in to Spotify, we're at the heart of music and culture. Our unrivaled global community of artists, songwrit...
02/05/2025
Data Communications Company has announced its partnership with IBM to modernise ...
02/05/2025
Comscore at the 20th Annual Needham Technology, Media, & Consumer Conference RESTON, Va., May 2 2025: Comscore (Nasdaq: SCOR), a trusted partner for planning, t...
02/05/2025
02 May 2025
VEON to release 1Q25 trading update on May 15, 2025 Dubai, May 2, 2025 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), a global digital operator, today confirms that t...
02/05/2025
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2025 second quarter ended March 29, 2025. The Company posted quarterly revenue of $...
02/05/2025
Well-known faces pushed to their limits in Uncharted with Ray Goggins...
01/05/2025
As Tanzania approaches a pivotal election year marked by both promise and concern over the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on media, more than 300 journa...
01/05/2025
After four years of lectures, study sessions, exams, and parties, college senior...
01/05/2025
Prochazka knows the power of relationships, so it has always been important to him that ATEC Pro be renowned for more than just supplying great equipment. Becom...
01/05/2025
Munster and Connacht Football Finals onThe Sunday Game Live
Final two days of t...
01/05/2025
Voice actor and producer Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff shares his first impressions of the DPA 2017 Shotgun Microphone, from real-world auditions to side-by-side compa...
01/05/2025
With my previous console, Freeman recalls, I always had to run a Waves server for EQ and compression, but when I switched to DiGiCo, I found it was such an op...
01/05/2025
Stream all episodes ofLook Who's Hangry from April 29
An RT Player Original in partnership with Heinz...
01/05/2025
Here is your host, Patrick Kielty!
T naiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and T...
Facebook 
