Spacebus is a satellite bus produced at the Cannes Mandelieu Space Center in France by Thales Alenia Space. Spacebuses are typically used for geostationary communications satellites, and seventy-four have been launched since development started in the 1980s. Spacebus was originally produced by Aérospatiale and later passed to Alcatel Alenia Space. In 2006, it was sold to Thales Group as Thales Alenia Space.
Telespazio Spa is a European spaceflight services company founded in 1961. It is a joint venture owned by Leonardo (67%) and Thales Group (33%) headquartered in Rome.
Thales Alenia Space is a joint venture between the French technology corporation Thales Group (67%) and Italian defense conglomerate Leonardo (33%). The company is headquartered in Cannes, France.
PROTEUS is a 3-axis stabilized platform designed for mini-satellites weighing approximately 500 kg operating in low Earth orbit. The platform is used by six scientific satellites developed as part of the space program of the National Center for Space Studies (CNES) for the European Space Agency: Jason-1, 2 and 3, CALIPSO, CoRoT, and SMOS. The platform is developed by the satellite division of Aérospatiale.
The Regional African Satellite Communication Organization (RASCOM) will provide telecommunication services, direct TV broadcast services and Internet access in rural areas of Africa. Under an agreement with RASCOM, RascomStar-QAF will implement RASCOM's first 14 communications satellite project. This joint African project is expected to lower the continent's dependency on international satellite networks such as Intelsat.
The Cannes Mandelieu Space Center is an industrial plant dedicated to spacecraft manufacturing, located in both the towns of Cannes and Mandelieu in France. After a long history in aircraft manufacturing, starting in 1929, the center became increasingly involved in aerospace activities after the Second World War, and satellites are now the plant's main product.
The French space program includes both civil and military spaceflight activities. It is the third oldest national space program in the world, after the Soviet and American space programs, and the largest space program in Europe.
The Bangabandhu Satellite-1 (Bangabandhu-1) is the first Bangladeshi geostationary communications and broadcasting satellite. It is named after the father of the nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. It was manufactured by Thales Alenia Space and launched on 12 May 2018. The satellite was the first payload launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 launch vehicle. Bangladesh embarked upon its journey into the realm of space exploration through the triumphant launch of its inaugural satellite, 'Bangabandhu-1'. This remarkable technological achievement elevated Bangladesh's status to that of the 57th nation to possess an independent satellite in the expanse of outer space.
Ariane 6 is a European expendable launch system under development since the early 2010s by ArianeGroup on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA). It replaces the Ariane 5, as part of the Ariane launch vehicle family. The stated motivation for Ariane 6 was to halve the cost compared to Ariane 5, and increase the capacity for the number of launches per year.
Syracuse is a series of French military communications satellite constellations.
Composante Spatiale Optique is a French military Earth observation satellite program of third generation. It replaces the Helios 2 satellites. It is sometimes referred to as the MUltinational Space-based Imaging System for Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Observation.
CERES is a French space-based electronic surveillance constellation designed to collect intelligence of electromagnetic origins anywhere in the world. Consisting of three formation-flying satellites, it was developed by Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space under the management of the CNES for the French defence procurement agency (DGA).
The S400 is a family of pressure fed liquid propelled rocket engines manufactured by ArianeGroup at the Orbital Propulsion Centre in Lampoldshausen, Germany.
The French Space Command is a formation of the French Air and Space Force, which deals with space issues. It supersedes the Joint Space Command, which was created in 2010.
ABS-2 is a Space Systems/Loral FS 1300 satellite launched in February 2014. It is positioned in geostationary orbit at 75E and serves four continents across Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Russia and CIS countries. The satellite provides fixed satellite services (FSS) including, video, data and telecommunication networks, corporate networks, cellular backhaul, IP trunking, mobility, and government and military services. It is owned and operated by ABS at its Subic Bay facility.
SES-17, is a high throughput all electric geostationary communications satellite owned and operated by SES S.A., and designed and manufactured by Thales Alenia Space. Launched on 24 October 2021 from Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG), in Kourou, French Guiana by an Ariane 5ECA launch vehicle, SES-17 was positioned at 67.1° west in May 2022 and, after testing, became fully operational in June 2022.
ELA-4, is a launch pad and associated facilities at the Centre Spatial Guyanais in French Guiana located along the Route de l'Espace in the Roche Christine site, between ELA-3 and ELS launch facilities. The complex is composed of a launch pad with mobile gantry, an horizontal assembly building and a dedicated launch operations building. ELA-4 is operated by Arianespace as part of the Ariane 6 program. As of November 2022 the first launch is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2023.
Eutelsat Konnect is a geostationary communications satellite operated by Eutelsat. The satellite was designed and manufactured by Thales Alenia Space on the Spacebus NEO 100 platform, and was launched on 16 January 2020 on an Ariane 5 ECA. The satellite provides broadband internet and communications coverage to Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa.
