Thales Alenia Space
Solar array glitch sidelines transponders on Apstar-6 satellite
APT Satellite turned off several transponders on its 13-year-old Apstar-6 satellite after a malfunctioning solar array caused a drop in power.
Spaceflight raises $150 million for BlackSky constellation
Spaceflight Industries announced March 13 that it has raised $150 million to fund development of the next phase of its BlackSky Earth imaging constellation, with Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio taking minority stakes.
Thales Alenia working with three companies on Deep Space Gateway concepts
Thales Alenia Space is partnering with three U.S. companies that are working on NASA studies of concepts for the proposed Deep Space Gateway, leveraging its expertise in space station and cargo module development.
ESA pours $107 million into Vega E and a reusable spaceplane
The European Space Agency today committed 89.7 million euros ($106.7 million) split between a new advanced iteration of the Vega launcher and the successor to a spaceplane demonstrator that flew in 2015.
BlackSky taps Thales Alenia to build constellation of 60 fast-revisit EO satellites
BlackSky CEO and founder Jason Andrews announced the partnership Sept. 15 during the closing day of Euroconsult’s World Satellite Business Week here.
SES loses 12 transponders on NSS-806 satellite, says impact is temporary
A 19-year old SES satellite lost nearly a third of its transponders in an anomaly this month, marking the second major satellite malfunction in the SES fleet this year.
SES says it could build the world’s most powerful satellite, but won’t
Global fleet operator SES says it could join the race to build the world’s highest-throughput satellites if it wanted to, but doesn’t believe such spacecraft will be effective at serving customers.
Thales Alenia Space, PGZ team up on concurrent design facility project
WARSAW, Poland – The Polish subsidiary of satellite builder Thales Alenia Space, Poland’s state-run defense group PGZ, and Warsaw University of Technology have signed a letter of intent on a project under which …
Inmarsat orders fifth Global Xpress satellite from Thales Alenia Space
British satellite operator Inmarsat announced June 2 that it is ordering a fifth Global Xpress satellite, switching manufacturers from Boeing, which built the original four, to Thales Alenia Space.
Iridium starting to deorbit legacy satellites as Next constellation comes online
Now that its first batch of next generation satellites is in orbit and operational, mobile satellite services provider Iridium is preparing deorbit procedures for its legacy fleet of low-Earth orbit satellites that launched in the late 1990s.
Iridium expects to renegotiate loan agreement by year’s end
Mobile satellite services provider Iridium Communications expects to complete negotiations with its lenders and its satellite manufacturer by the end of the year ro loosen payment obligations to ride out the delay in the launch of its second-generation constellation.
SES enters Ka-band airline connectivity market with Thales Avionics as customer
Satellite fleet operator SES, in a direct challenge to competitors ViaSat, Eutelsat and Inmarsat, is investing $500 million in a large, all-Ka-band spot beam high-throughput satellite to launch over the Americas in 2020 for aeronautical connectivity and other mobility applications, industry officials said.
Iridium negotiates payment delays with lenders, contractor to mitigate Aireon shortfall
Mobile satellite services provider Iridium Communications on July 28 said it had opened negotiations with its lenders and its satellite manufacturer to reduce or delay Iridium payments in the event Iridium’s Aireon air traffic surveillance affiliate cannot make its scheduled payment to Iridium.
Thales Alenia Space Stratobus eyes contract in 2017, radio frequency approval in 2019
Satellite builder Thales Alenia Space and six partners are investing their own money, plus grants from the French government, into the Stratobus high-altitude platform station (HAPS) on the assumption that the development yields a contract in 2017, the program manager said.
LeoSat corporate broadband constellation sees GEO satellite operators as partners
LeoSat Enterprises, which is designing a constellation of low-orbiting satellites to provide secure broadband links to corporate and global networks, is positioning itself as a natural partner to established geostationary-orbit satellite operators as it seeks to complete its Phase a fundraising round of $100 million.
