A one hundred million euro contract over four years with EUSPA – European Union Agency for the Space Program – for Thales Alenia Space. The joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%) will provide maintenance and support services for EGNOS V2, the European satellite navigation system. The EGNOS system – European Geostationary Navigation Overlay System is aimed at improving the accuracy, reliability and integrity of the positioning signals provided by both satellite constellations and ground stations, improving the performance of global satellite navigation systems such as GPS and, in the future, Galileo. The EGNOS “Safety of Life” service, in particular, is used in the avionics sector for landings, allowing precision approaches to European airports without the need for ground guidance systems, significantly improving safety and operational efficiency.
Operational support
Thales Alenia Space will provide operational support and assistance in the event of an incident – for hardware and software troubleshooting and repairs – guaranteeing EGNOS 24/7 support. The service also includes updating and modified necessary to guarantee the “Safety Of Life” service. With this contract, «Thales Alenia Space strengthens its European and international leadership in satellite navigation and supports the success of the EGNOS system» highlighted Benoit Broudy, Vice President of Navigation of Thales Alenia Space. European industry has developed exceptional skills and credentials in satellite navigation systems, he explained, ‘supporting successful exports of this technology, which has already been deployed in South Korea, Africa and the Indian Ocean’. The contract that Thales Alenia Space signed with the European Space Agency (ESA) for the management of the TeQuantS Project, which has as its objective the development of space-earth quantum communication technologies, looks to the future of telecommunications. Part of ESA’s ARTES – 4.0 Core Competitiveness programme, the development is supported by the French space agency CNES and the Austrian space agency.