AEROSPACE INDUSTRY
UPDATE
November 2019
McIlvaine Company
Thales Alenia Space Builds
Facilities in Spain for Large Satellite Payloads and Instruments
Thales Alenia Space starts the construction
of its new facilities in Spain for the integration of large satellite payloads
and instruments
These unique facilities in Spain – with more
than 6,456 sq. ft. (600 m2) clean area and 20-meter height – will allow to
expand the activities of the company in the domain of integration and
testing of large space systems. The new facilities add-up to the existing
21,520 sq. ft.
(2000 m2) clean area devoted to manufacturing and integration of
space equipment and large subsystems.
The SPAINSAT NG satellite payloads will be
integrated in this new clean room, that will be ready in autumn 2020 and
will pave the way for new services for space agencies and satellite
operators.
The construction of the new cleanroom that
Thales Alenia Space, Joint Venture between Thales (67 %) and Leonardo (33 %) is
setting up in Spain has already started. This cutting-edge facility will become
a reference for the integration and test of large space systems in Spain.
The construction works will span for a little
less than a year. Once finished, the company will have the capacity to pursue
high complexity activities such as the integration of the telecommunication
payloads for Spain’s next generation governmental satellites SPAINSAT NG and
other large systems in the field of Earth observation and science instruments.
This investment will result into a unique,
cutting-edge facility in Spain. The new clean room will add more than 600 m2
clean area to the existing 2000 m2. With a free height of 12.5 meters in the
inside, the facility will be equipped with bridge cranes with lifting capacity
up to 12 tons each, prepared for the integration of payloads and instruments of
large dimensions for all type of space missions, spanning telecommunications,
navigation, Earth observation and science.
Eduardo Bellido, CEO of Thales Alenia Space
in Spain said: “With these new capacities we are matching Europe’s space powers
and we will be ready to pursue high level integration activities in Spain. We
are currently leading the development of the telecommunication payloads for the
SPAINSAT NG satellites in Spain, a state-of-the-art program in space technology,
with these payloads to be integrated in the new clean room.” Bellido added:
“This great investment shows the strong commitment of Thales Alenia Space in the
development of high added value space activities in Spain.”
Centre of Excellence in Spain
In 30 years of activity, Thales Alenia Space
in Spain has participated already in 600 satellites, space vehicles and probes
for space agencies and satellite operators all over the world, having built in
its facilities in Madrid over 4000 equipment that feature over 200 million hours
of operation in orbit.
Specialized in the development of
radiofrequency and digital electronics equipment, the company is a reference in
Europe in satellite communication subsystems for all type of space missions and
orbits, spanning Earth observation in low Earth orbit (LEO), meteorology
missions in geostationary orbit (GEO) and science missions to the Moon and in
orbit around the L2 Sun-Earth Lagrangian point at a distance of 1.5 million
kilometers from the Earth. Over the last years it has delivered 30 large
communication subsystems for several satellites, including Sentinel 1, 2 and 3,
Ingenio, Meteosat Third Generation, GEO-KOMPSAT-2 and Euclid.
Thales Alenia Space site in Madrid is also a
center of excellence in optical Earth observation instruments. It is responsible
for the development of the electronics for instruments such as OLCI (Sentinel
3), Ingenio and up to 12 high resolution optical satellites. Furthermore, it
develops the video and data processing units for the two main instruments of
Meteosat Third Generation, key to guarantee the superior image quality of both
instruments.
The company is currently leading in Spain the
study of the Land Surface Temperature Monitoring instrument (LSTM) for the
expansion of the European environmental monitoring program Copernicus, a mission
designed to provide seamless, accurate and easy to access information in support
of agriculture and water resources management services, key to better addressing
the nutritional needs of the world’s population over the next few decades.
(Clean rooms are areas designed and equipped
to operate in very low contamination conditions and under stable temperature,
air pressure and humidity conditions. They have a strict control of the
environmental parameters (humidity, temperature, air pressure, dust particles
suspended in the air) as well as stringent access and dressing restrictions.
Class ISO 8 (or Class 100,000), needed for the manufacturing and assembly of
on-board satellite electronics and systems, guarantees that the number of
particles more than 0.5 microns is below 3.5 million per cubic meter, or
equivalently, 100,000 particles per cubic feet.)
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 about 2.5 billion euros in 2018 and has around 8,000
employees in nine countries.
McIlvaine Company
Northfield, IL 60093-2743
Tel: 847-784-0012; Fax:
847-784-0061
E-mail:
editor@mcilvainecompany.com
Web site:
www.mcilvainecompany.com