ESA

ESA Astronaut Alexander Gerst tests lunar module living conditions at Thales Alenia Space in Turin

18 Feb 2022

European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst has recently tested the future cislunar human accommodation inside a physical mockup and a virtual reality environment at Thales Alenia Space in Turin, where Lunar Gateway is largely being built, including the International Habitation Module (I-HAB).

Thales Alenia Space has been selected by the European Space Agency to study specific technical aspects for a future Lunar Radio Navigation System

26 Oct 2021

Rome, October 27th, 2021 - Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), has been selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) to study fundamental techniques, models and algorithms to facilitate a future Lunar Radio Navigation System (LNRS). This study contract is part of ESA’s Moonlight initiative, aiming to build reliable communication and navigation services to support the next generation of institutional and private Lunar Exploration Missions. Moon exploration is a strategic priority in space exploration, for both ESA and the industries, and it will enable the future manned missions to Mars.

Preparing Rosalind Franklin to discover Martian life

29 Sep 2021

The ExoMars 2022 mission is designed to find traces of past or present life under the Martian soil. Leading this search is the Rosalind Franklin rover, which features the Analytical Laboratory Drawer. The ALD is a sophisticated micro-laboratory capable of processing on-site the samples collected by a drill that penetrates the Martian soil down to a depth of two meters. It can detect organic contaminates which could be considered “living matter”.

Thales Alenia Space entrusted by ESA to build a prototype of the next generation of ground station for the European satellite navigation system EGNOS

27 Sep 2021

Cannes, September 27, 2021 - Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67 %) and Leonardo (33 %), has been selected by ESA in the frame of the Horizon 2020 program, for a new contract to design and develop a prototype of the next generation of ground station for the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), called NLES-Next (Navigation Land Earth Station).

The Director General of the European Space Agency, Josef Aschbacher, visits the Thales Alenia Space site in Rome

01 Jun 2021

Rome, 1st June 2021 - Today, the Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA), Josef Aschbacher, visited the Thales Alenia Space site in Rome, where he was welcomed by the CEO of Thales Alenia Space, Hervé Derrey, and Massimo Comparini, CEO of Thales Alenia Space Italia, as well as by the highest representatives of the French-Italian space joint venture shareholders, Patrice Caine, Chairman and CEO of Thales and Alessandro Profumo, CEO of Leonardo.

Rosalind Franklin’s Earth twin salutes its fellow rovers to ramp up for ExoMars 2022 mission

06 May 2021

The ground test model (GTM) of the Rosalind Franklin rover for the upcoming ExoMars mission will soon leave Thales Alenia Space’s Turin plant for a short trip to the Rover Operational Control Center (ROCC), in Altec. This model will now be put through its paces on the ROCC’s Mars Terrain Simulator to make sure the rover is ready for its critical mission.

Space flight celebrates 60th anniversary and looks to the future

12 Apr 2021

It’s getting to be quite a long time since the first human space flight.

Sixty years ago, on April 12, 1961 – nearly 58 years after the Wright Brothers made the first powered flight – Yuri Gagarin orbited the Earth in the Vostok 3KA-3 capsule, proving that humans could indeed travel into space and return safety.

Thales Alenia Space wins feasibility study contract for Moon accommodations

08 Apr 2021

Rome, April 8, 2021 - Thales Alenia Space, the joint company between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), has won a contract from the Italian space agency (ASI) to conduct a feasibility study of 16 design concepts to support a human presence on the Moon. ASI's initiative is part of a strategic partnership with NASA within the scope of the ARTEMIS program for the human exploration of the Moon, including both lunar orbit and lunar surface.

ESA astronauts Alexander Gerst and Luca Parmitano use their avatars to check out future habitation accommodation on Lunar Gateway

11 Mar 2021

In preparation of the upcoming Preliminary Design Review (PDR) for the International Habitat (IHAB) module for the Lunar Gateway space station, Thales Alenia Space teamed up with the European Space Agency’s European Astronaut Center (EAC) last week to virtually review the IHAB’s functional volumes and related crew accommodations. All teams involved in this virtual session, including astronauts, are preparing for life around Moon orbit by focusing on habitability requirements to enable the crew to sleep, eat, manage stowage and conduct science experiments.

Thales radar tracks the Crew Dragon on its way to the ISS

31 May 2020

On 30th of May 2020 SpaceX and NASA made history with their successful launch of the manned Demonstration Flight 2. This is the first commercial launch bringing Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station. A big achievement for all the people who worked so hard and once again showed that the Sky is Not the Limit!
During this event there also was a success in the Netherlands with the SMART-L Multi Mission radar from Thales. Through autonomous surveillance we detected and tracked, from our site in Hengelo, both the Crew Dragon and the Second Stage while they passed over Europe with 28.000 km/h.