Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Thales Alenia Space will provide the Optical Inter Satellite Links for Telesat's Lightspeed Low Earth Orbit 298-satellite constellation

14/06/2021

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

The chosen Optel-C product builds on more than 20 years of Thales Alenia Space's expertise in optical communications and optoelectronics instruments in Switzerland

Zurich, June 11, 2021 - As prime contractor for the construction of Telesat's Lightspeed constellation, Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) (67%) and Leonardo (Milan stock exchange: LDO) (33%), is announcing today that the Optical Inter Satellite Links (OISL) on-board the Lightspeed satellites will be 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. Their use will optimize the ground segment with a lower number of gateway sites, more freedom on gateway locations, and the ability to deploy gateways incrementally as system loading increases. The initial Lightspeed space segment will be comprised of 298 satellites. Telesat's constellation satellites will deliver multiple terabits per second across the globe for secure, low-latency, high-performing broadband professional services.

The Optel-C product builds on more than 20 years' experience from Thales Alenia Space in Switzerland in optical communications and space optoelectronics instruments covering engineering, design analysis and assembly integration & tests for opto-mechanics, electronics and photonics. The product consortium involves several partners in Italy, France, Canada, Switzerland and UK.

Optel-C is optimized for constellations, robust by design and based on proven terrestrial/submarine technology for communications photonics and mechatronics subsystems as well as on 1550 nm Commercial Off-The-Shelf solutions. Complexity has been reduced to the minimum required to meet performance objectives, to optimize the price point of the product, and to achieve unit production throughput. The product provides a flexible accommodation and easy integration, thus accelerating the satellite assembly time, a key consideration for large scale constellations. The industrial challenge of such a high volume and high throughput production will benefit from the broad experience and proven capabilities of Thales in similar types of volume manufacturing in the defence domain and will be implemented in its Glasgow plant.

Artistic views Thales Alenia Space/Master Image Programmes

ABOUT THALES ALENIA SPACE

Drawing on over 40 years of experience and a unique combination of skills, expertise and cultures, Thales Alenia Space delivers cost-effective solutions for telecommunications, navigation, Earth observation, environmental management, exploration, science and orbital infrastructures. Governments and private industry alike count on Thales Alenia Space to design satellite-based systems that provide anytime, anywhere connections and positioning, monitor our planet, enhance management of its resources, and explore our Solar System and beyond. Thales Alenia Space sees space as a new horizon, helping to build a better, more sustainable life on Earth. A joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), Thales Alenia Space also teams up with Telespazio to form the parent companies' Space Alliance, which offers a complete range of services. Thales Alenia Space posted consolidated revenues of approximately 1.850 billion euros in 2020 and has around 7,700 employees in 18 sites in 11 countries across Europe and a plant in the USA. www.thalesaleniaspace.com

THALES ALENIA SPACE - PRESS CONTACTS

Sandrine Bielecki

Tel: +33 (0)4 92 92 70 94

sandrine.bielecki@thalesaleniaspace.com

Tarik Lahlou

Tel: +33(0)6 87 95 89 56

tarik.lahlou@thalesaleniaspace.com

Marija Kovac

Tel: +39 (0)6 415 129 91

marija.kovac-somministrato@thalesaleniaspace.com
LINK: https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/worldwide/space/press-release/thales-al...
See more stories from thales

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

05/06/2026

Nielsen, Mediaocean Announce New Integration to Power The Next Phase of Data-Driven Linear, Advanced Audience Measurement

MRI-Simmons and S&P Global Mobility are expanding advanced audience capabilities...

05/06/2026

Latest Nielsen data reveals insurance advertising climbs as Australians weigh cost, cover and loyalty

New Nielsen data shows insurance ad spend grew 11%, while consumers remain highl...

05/06/2026

Nielsen Adds New Audience Data Partnerships

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

05/06/2026

ASG Promotes Joe Marchitto to Western Regional CTO

ASG Promotes Joe Marchitto to Western Regional CTO Brie Clayton June 5, 2026 0 Comments Appointment to Support Engineering Alignment and Client Experi...

05/06/2026

Stargate Studios Colombia Uses DaVinci Resolve Studio for Vertical Microdramas

Stargate Studios Colombia Uses DaVinci Resolve Studio for Vertical Microdramas Brie Clayton June 5, 2026 0 Comments End to end post in one platform al...

05/06/2026

People Need to Come First When We Use AI

People Need to Come First When We Use AI Andy Marken June 5, 2026 0 Comments It's just surviving. Life's very existence requires destruction....

05/06/2026

Fahad Haider Joins NESN as VP, Operations and Engineering

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

05/06/2026

GatesAir Opens New Brazil Office to Back DTV+ Rollout

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

05/06/2026

Supreme Court Upholds FCC's Authority to Levy Fines

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

05/06/2026

Montclair State University Will Run NJ PBS

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

05/06/2026

Merkhet's Sam Matheny Urges Congress to Expedite BPS Deployment

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

05/06/2026

Sinclair Launches NextGen TV Campaign in Columbus, Ohio

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

05/06/2026

NAB Releases New Keep the Game On' Spot

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

05/06/2026

NCTC, ACAC Going to Disney World for Independent Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

05/06/2026

Nielsen Announces New Integrations for Improved Measurement

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

05/06/2026

Frequency Launches In-Scene Advertising to Accelerate Str...

Frequency, the engine powering many of the world's leading streaming television channels, today announced the launch of In-Scene Advertising, a new monetiza...

05/06/2026

Berklee Study Reveals Video Has Become Essential to Music Careers

Berklee Study Reveals Video Has Become Essential to Music Careers Survey findings show social platforms have become the primary source of music for video cont...

05/06/2026

RT Radio 1 Folk Awards 2026 Date Announcement

RT Radio 1 Folk Awards to take place on Tuesday 10th November 2026, Vicar Street, Dublin Moya Brennan, D nal Lunny, Mary Black and Christy Moore among previou...

04/06/2026

Sony's New PTZ Cameras Deliver 4K 60p; New STARVIS Sensor Meets Low-Light Demands

Sony Electronics is introducing the SRG-AS10, a 4K 60p-compatible PTZ auto-frami...

04/06/2026

SVG Students To Watch: Alex Albert, Texas A&M University

This recent grad from Spring, TX, led creative-video output for the Aggies' men's basketball team last season and has been producing video and creating ...

04/06/2026

USGA Brings AI Recaps, 3D Range Tracking, and Predictive Shot Tracing to U.S. Womens Open

For the first time at a women's golf major, every player in the field will r...

04/06/2026

Panasonic PT-RQ45 Projectors Power Lille Video Mapping Festival Opera House Installation

Three Panasonic PT-RQ45 40,000-lumen 3-Chip DLP projectors made their first live...

04/06/2026

Bitmovin and Akamai Support NRJ Groups Deployment of Akamai Adaptive Media Player 2

Bitmovin and Akamai have announced a collaboration with NRJ Group, a French mult...

04/06/2026

Telestream to Exhibit at InfoComm 2026 with Live Production and Media Workflow Demonstrations

Telestream will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N7952), demonstrating media work...

04/06/2026

Sony Announces RIALTO 65 Image Sensor Block for VENICE 2, Targeting 2027 Release

Sony has announced the development of RIALTO 65, a 65mm format image sensor block for the VENICE 2 digital cinema camera, targeting release in the first half of...

04/06/2026

KOKUSAI DENKI Electric America to Exhibit 4K and Remote Production Solutions at InfoComm 2026

KOKUSAI DENKI Electric America will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N8025, June ...

04/06/2026

Bell Media to Carry All 104 FIFA World Cup 2026 Matches Across TSN, RDS, and Streaming Platforms

Bell Media's TSN and RDS are the exclusive Canadian broadcasters of FIFA Wor...

04/06/2026

MASV Case Study: How MASV Reduced Miami HEAT's Road Game Video Transfer Times by 85%

The Challenge: Receiving Heavy Media Files From Road Games Quickly and ReliablyT...

04/06/2026

MASV Outlines Seven-Step Sports Analytics Workflow, Highlights File Transfer as Key Bottleneck

MASV, a managed file transfer platform used in broadcast and live sports product...

04/06/2026

NESN Appoints Fahad Haider as Vice President of Operations and Engineering

NESN has announced the appointment of Fahad Haider as Vice President of Operations and Engineering. Haider returns to NESN, where he previously served as Vice P...

04/06/2026

Sports Broadcaster, Executive, and Author David J. Halberstam Dies

David J. Halberstam, who spent almost 50 years in sports as a broadcaster and an executive, died June 2 after a years-long battle with brain cancer. Over his l...

04/06/2026

Grass Valleys Ben Dolinky on Offering Teachable Technology to College Students Across the Country

Although collegiate production programs are tasked with delivering high-quality ...

04/06/2026

Prime Video Caps First NBA Season With Sports Emmy Win, Carries In-House Production Into WNBA Campaign

California studio, two production trucks, global distribution system are combine...

04/06/2026

TikTok and Sundance Collab Launch Micro-Series Storytelling Program

New global program empowers and supports storytellers through scriptwriting course and access to industry experts TikTok and Sundance Institute today announce...

04/06/2026

Celemony announce Tonalic ARA support for Cubase & Nuendo

Steinberg DAWs now boast in-depth Tonalic integration Celemony's innovative virtual session musician plug-in has just received an update that brings ARA...

04/06/2026

GearExpo UK: Microphone Update

Get Hands-On With Over 20 Mic Brands GearExpo UK is fast approaching, and if you've been looking for a chance to check out some new mics, then you'r...

04/06/2026

Positive Grid launch Reactor amp range

Combos feature new Amplifier Intelligence engine Positive Grid's latest release sees the company introduce two new combo amplifiers that promise to offe...

04/06/2026

Is Your Job Making You Work this June?

Is Your Job Making You Work this June? 4 June, 2026 Media releases SBS Launches the World Cup Watchers' Rights Association to Stand Up For Australians&...

04/06/2026

Statement regarding unauthorised use of SBS logos on third party social content

Statement regarding unauthorised use of SBS logos on third party social content 4 June, 2026 Media releases SBS has become aware of social media posts in c...

04/06/2026

TiVo: TV Viewing Hits Post-Pandemic Peak

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/06/2026

Bitmovin and Akamai Support NRJ Group to Deploy Next Gene...

Bitmovin, a leading provider of video streaming infrastructure, and Akamai, the cybersecurity and cloud computing company that powers and protects business onli...

04/06/2026

American Underground Opens at American Tobacco Campus, Completing a 16-Year Full-Circle Story

American Underground (AU), the Startup Hub of the South and a community of mor...

04/06/2026

Nielsen: Thunder Rolls as NBA's Most-Watched Team

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/06/2026

AI Drives Lenovo's 2026 FIFA World Cup Broadcast Plans

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/06/2026

ATSC Conference Looks Beyond Traditional TV for 3.0 Success

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/06/2026

ATSC Awards Highest Technical Honor to Julia Kenyon

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...