science

Matra Marconi Space

Matra Marconi Space is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Matra Marconi Space rather than just read about it. In short: Matra Marconi Space (MMS) was an Anglo-French aerospace company. History Matra Marconi Space was established in 1990 as a joint venture between the space and telecommunication division of the French conglomerate Matra (Matra Espace) and that of the British GEC group (Marconi Space Systems).

Key takeaways

Matra Marconi Space belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Matra Marconi Space to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Matra Marconi Space from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Matra Marconi Space (MMS) was an Anglo-French aerospace company.

History Matra Marconi Space was established in 1990 as a joint venture between the space and telecommunication division of the French conglomerate Matra (Matra Espace) and that of the British GEC group (Marconi Space Systems). The new company was announced in December 1989 and was owned 51% by Matra and 49% by GEC-Marconi. It would have annual sales of £300 million, with £8.7 million in assets from Marconi Space Systems and £10.7 million in assets from Matra Espace. Claude Goumy, the Managing Director of Matra Espace was the first Managing Director. The first deputy Managing Director was Richard Wignall, the former Managing Director of Marconi Space Systems. The space industry was important to France - almost half the budget of the European Space Agency (ESA) came from the French government.

Acquisitions In 1991, British Aerospace was discussing with MMS how to merge their space interests, as well as Robert Bosch GmbH and Deutsche Aerospace. On 19 July 1994, it acquired British Aerospace Space Systems (a subsidiary of BAe Dynamics with 900 workers) for £56 million. On 11 August 1994, it bought Ferranti Satcomms (from administration), which was based in Poynton in Cheshire. Ferranti Satcomms brought satellite ground station, component and subsystem technologies to the group. In July 1995, GEC bought 45% of shares in the National Remote Sensing Centre for the company. Also in July 1995, the company was looking to link up with the French state giant Aérospatiale and DASA of Germany to form a Europe-wide space company. The company would (five years later) link up with DASA. By 1996, the company was turning over more than £1 billion. In the late 1990s, it developed a partnership with the University of Sheffield's Sheffield Centre for Earth Observation Science (SCEOS), which researched interferometry. In November 1997, it announced that it would close the Filton site (former BAe Dynamics) in August 1999, with the planned transfer of 300 of 400 personnel and staff from Bristol to Stevenage. The Filton site specialised in scientific satellites and their computer software; projects included Ulysses, Hubble Space Telescope Solar Arrays, Giotto, Envisat / Polar Platform, Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SoHO) and the Cluster spacecraft destroyed in the first flight of Ariane 5. Over 380 staff left the Company and, as a result, MMS lost the ESA prime contract for the Rosetta spacecraft. British Aerospace regained an interest in the company when it merged with GEC's Marconi Electronic Systems to form BAE Systems in November 1999.

Astrium In late 1998, it was discussing a possible merger with DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG (DASA). In 2000, it was merged with the space division of DASA to form Astrium.

Management Jean-Bernard Lévy (1993-1994) Roger Wood (1994-1996)

Products Skylark (rocket), sounding rocket designed earlier in the 1960s, last launched on 2 May 2005 (its 441st flight - Maser 10) from the Esrange site of the Swedish Space Corporation Radar for the European Remote-Sensing Satellite (ERS-1) Altitude and orbit-control system for XMM-Newton, which was launched on 10 December 1999 Advanced synthetic aperture radar (ASAR) on the Envisat Propulsion systems (built at Filton) for four Cluster satellites, which were destroyed on 4 June 1996 on the Ariane 5G, Flight 501 Technologies for Artemis satellite

Satellites Ariel 6 AfriStar, constructed with Alcatel Space AsiaStar, constructed with Alcatel Space Hélios (Europe's first) spy satellite Hipparcos, constructed with Alenia Spazio Hot Bird 2, the largest satellite made in Europe at the time and launched in November 1996, and other later Hot Bird satellites for Eutelsat Humidity Sounder for Brazil - launched in May 2002 Early Inmarsat satellites Nilesat 101 - launched in April 1998, for ERTU Nilesat 102 - launched in August 2000 Skynet satellite Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SoHo) - launched on 2 December 1995 Three satellites for 1worldspace, launched in 1999

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Matra Marconi Space

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Matra Marconi Space claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Matra Marconi Space before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Matra Marconi Space ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Matra Marconi Space

In research: Matra Marconi Space appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Matra Marconi Space in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Matra Marconi Space is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1996 establishments in France, 2000 disestablishments in the United Kingdom, British companies disestablished in 2000, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Matra Marconi Space outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Matra Marconi Space” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Matra Marconi Space in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Matra Marconi Space means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Matra Marconi Space out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Matra Marconi Space in simple terms?

Matra Marconi Space (MMS) was an Anglo-French aerospace company. History Matra Marconi Space was established in 1990 as a joint venture between the space and telecommunication division of the French conglomerate Matra (Matra Espace) and that of the British GEC group (Marconi Space Systems).

Why does Matra Marconi Space matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Matra Marconi Space?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Matra Marconi Space.