
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
40 years of passion, innovation, and technology at the heart of the global space ecosystem
Rome, December 4, 2023 - Thales Alenia Space, a Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%) joint venture, is celebrating 40 years since the establishment of its industrial sites in Rome and LAquila. Four decades that encapsulate a history of adventurous challenges and great successes, where high technology meets high skills in the capable hands of the women and men who bring great professionalism and passion to every project. These sites have forged an important path, thanks to the support and contribution of the Italian and European Space Agencies, as well as the work carried out for the Defense Administration and the important commercial activity, contributing to Thales Alenia Space Italia global recognition as a key player in the world of space in a constantly evolving journey. Established in 1983, Rome and LAquila plants are now among Thales Alenia Spaces largest industrial facilities in Europe.
Thales Alenia Space Italias Rome site headquarters are in the outlying eastern area of the city, in a high-tech industrial setting known as the capitals Technological Hub. This location represents the companys strategic heart in Italy, and it also houses the Satellite Integration Center and the Antenna and Equipment Development Center. By 2025 it will also house the Space Smart Factory, an all-digital smart factory among the largest in Europe. The most prestigious Remote Sensing, Earth Observation, Telecommunications and Satellite Navigation Programs have originated in Rome's clean rooms, making the site a global benchmark in satellite manufacturing, development, and integration of cutting-edge space technologies, while contributing to the growth of the countrys space economy.
Thales Alenia Space
Similarly, LAquila's plant, a state-of-the-art technopole serves as a hub for the production of all equipment, focusing on technology development, product industrialization and space-qualified production of hybrids, printed circuit board assembly (PCBA), electronic components, composite antenna parts and structural satellite parts of different classes and application fields such as remote sensing, telecommunications, exploration, navigation, radar and defense. The plants in Rome and LAquila grew rapidly in the past three years to reach today 1,200 and 400 employees respectively.
I am truly proud to celebrate this prestigious anniversary today. Stories of space success from Rome and LAquila plants have boosted our companys reputation over the years, formerly as Selenia, then as Alenia Spazio. Today, Thales Alenia Space is an undisputed key player of the international space scenario promoting significant technological advances in the space industry. The best wishes for the 40th anniversary of our company come at a time of strong growth of the space activities in Italy and Thales Alenia Space, in synergy with the academic world, major universities, small and medium-sized enterprises as well as startups, is at the forefront of the growth of Italian and European Space,said Massimo Comparini, CEO of Thales Alenia Space Italia. Thales Alenia Spaces accomplishments and expertise are now integrated in a New Space approach, at the service of innovation and sustainable development, tackling the most complex technological challenges and positioning the company at the forefront of future space technologies, while maintaining the relationship with the local territories, added Comparini. We will keep working, day by day, in our laboratories, in our clean rooms, in our 21st century factories to build the probes, modules, and satellites of the future, but above all to build a future of knowledge and prosperity for our youth and our national community.
Thales Alenia Space
After celebrating in the recent months, the 40 years of the Thales Alenia Space Toulouse site in France, and the 60th anniversary of the Charleroi site in Belgium, I am particularly pleased today to celebrate Rome and LAquila, two sites with paramount importance in Thales Alenia Space's industrial and technological setting in Europe. The diversity and complementarity of our sites pinpoint all the dynamism, expertise and passion of our teams who have contributed and continue to contribute firsthand to the success of our company, said Herv Derrey, CEO of Thales Alenia Space.
A cutting-edge site in the fields of Telecommunications and Observation and Science
Thales Alenia Space
Over the past 40 years, Thales Alenia Spaces industrial sites in Rome and LAquila have established themselves as centers of excellence in the satellite telecommunications field. The industrial history of these sites boasts deep roots in telecommunications (Intelsat, Hot Bird, Arabsat, Italsat, Globalstar, O3b, Iridium NEXT, Athena-Fidus, SICRAL), science and exploration (Hipparcos, Beppo Sax, Cassini-Huygens, Rosetta, Integral, Mars Express, Venus Express and ExoMars), and remote sensing (ERS 1 and 2, Envisat, Met-op, COSMO-SkyMed, Sentinel). Today we are involved in the second Generation of the Italian CSG constellation and working on the new satellites of the European Copernicus Program, with the CHIME - CIMR - Rose-L satellites. The company will also supply a first group of 6 small satellites based on SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) technology and 1 satellite based on optical technology for ESAs innovative IRIDE constellation. The development of 4 high-resolution Earth Observation radar satellites carries on under the Korea 425 Project of the South Korean Agency for Defense Development (ADD). In the field of telecommunications, the Sicral 3 satellite is being developed. In addition, LAquila plant is fully involved in the manufacture of components for the 81 Iridium NEXT telecom satellites.
At the origin of satellite navigation: fro
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
21/02/2026
With Software Defined Broadcasting more established in Milan Cortina look for Los Angeles 2028 to have less hardware and more cloud-based software systems...
21/02/2026
The SVP of Olympic Operations on turning CAD drawings into reality, building tru...
21/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/02/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils the Trailer of Accused', A Psychological ...
20/02/2026
Gravity Media and Los Angeles-based Green Couch Entertainment announce a strateg...
20/02/2026
IMAX announces it is working with Apple TV to bring the 2026 FIA Formula One Wor...
20/02/2026
Daktronics has partnered with the Philadelphia Phillies to design, manufacture, ...
20/02/2026
ESPN announces the upcoming launch of Women's Sports Sundays - a first-of-it...
20/02/2026
As the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots faced off in the NFL's biggest sporting event of the season on Sun., Feb. 8, Sennheiser wireless solutions ...
20/02/2026
ESPN announces its 2026 Major League Baseball spring training schedule, which includes four national games on ESPN, six games on ESPN Unlimited, and more than 2...
20/02/2026
Open Broadcast Systems, which specializes in software-based professional video transport, has added support for 200 Gigabit Ethernet to its range of encoders an...
20/02/2026
Chyron announces the release of PAINT 10.3, which is designed to help analysts and operators turn live action into clearer, faster on-air storytelling.
PAINT 1...
20/02/2026
With full squad workouts underway, MLB Network's live Spring Training game s...
20/02/2026
Tech enhancements, marquee productions are expected to take advantage of a summe...
20/02/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
20/02/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
20/02/2026
Speaking with SVG Europe after one of Team GB's greatest days at a Winter Olympics, BBC Sport's head of major events, Ron Chakraborty, explains the broa...
20/02/2026
Making Winter Games Olympic magic is the goal for every broadcaster in Italy cov...
20/02/2026
Curling, one of the least-dangerous Winter Olympic sports, is dominating the Mil...
20/02/2026
BBC Sport's presence at the 2026 Winter Games is centred around a significan...
20/02/2026
BBC Sport is bringing together its linear TV and streaming digital arms in a str...
20/02/2026
To broaden the appeal of winter sports at Milano Cortina, the BBC has integrated...
20/02/2026
Just in time for the start of Apple TV's inaugural season as the exclusive U...
20/02/2026
One big challenge was to depict the character of each of very different and wide...
20/02/2026
(L-R) Writer-director Amanda Kramer photographs the photographers at the premiere of her film By Design at the Library Center Theatre in Park City. (Photo by ...
20/02/2026
In our latest blog, Tim Pearson explores the impact that increased memory prices are having on the consumer electronics market, and particularly the set-top box...
20/02/2026
Calrec Type R: Shaping the Future of Radio from the Heart of Flirt FM
Love may have filled the airwaves last week for Valentine's Day, and we've just c...
20/02/2026
NEW YORK - February 10, 2026 - An estimated 125.6* million viewers watched Super Bowl LX on Sunday, February 8, according to Nielsen's Big Data Panel meas...
20/02/2026
NEW YORK - February 19, 2026 - Nielsen today shared updated and final Super Bowl...
20/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/02/2026
A leading global investment bank, with offices at Two International Finance Centre in Hong Kong, partnered with systems integrators Global Vision Engineering (G...
20/02/2026
Rise AV and Rise Broadcast, the global not-for-profit organisations dedicated to improving gender diversity across technical industries, have today announced a ...
20/02/2026
Open Broadcast Systems, the leader in software-based professional video transport, has added support for 200 Gigabit Ethernet to its range of encoders and decod...
20/02/2026
Signiant today announced the formation of its Customer Advisory Board (CAB), bringing together a select group of customers to collaborate on product strategy, r...
20/02/2026
PTZOptics today announced the launch of its Visual Reasoning initiative that makes video more actionable by combining robotic PTZ camera systems, AI, and open i...
20/02/2026
Amino, a global media technology provider delivering devices, software and cloud services that simplify and elevate video delivery, today announced the successf...
20/02/2026
SMPTE , the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, today announced its call for technical papers for the SMPTE 2026 Media Technology Summit....
20/02/2026
Wowza Media Systems today announced that Granicus, a leading provider of digital engagement solutions for governments, continues to rely on Wowza to power its h...
20/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/02/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...