science

Thales Alenia Space

Thales Alenia 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 Thales Alenia Space rather than just read about it. In short: Thales Alenia Space (, THAH-lez) is a European spaceflight services joint venture between the French technology corporation Thales Group (67%) and Italian defense conglomerate Leonardo (33%). It forms one half of the Space Alliance along with Telespazio which is also owned by Leonardo (67%) and Thales (33%).

Key takeaways

Thales Alenia 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 Thales Alenia Space to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Thales Alenia Space from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Thales Alenia Space (, THAH-lez) is a European spaceflight services joint venture between the French technology corporation Thales Group (67%) and Italian defense conglomerate Leonardo (33%). It forms one half of the Space Alliance along with Telespazio which is also owned by Leonardo (67%) and Thales (33%). It provides space-based systems, including satellites and ground segments, used for telecommunications, navigation, earth observation, space exploration and scientific purposes. The company is a major industrial participant in the International Space Station (ISS), having produced numerous pressurized modules including the Cupola, the Harmony and Tranquility nodes, the Columbus laboratory and for the Cygnus cargo spacecraft. It is a key contributor to Galileo, a European global satellite navigation system, being responsible for the ground segment in particular. In 2021, the company was also awarded a contract by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Commission to build 6 of the 12 new Galileo Second Generation satellites. The company is also an important industrial partner towards development of the Lunar Gateway. Thales Alenia Space has 17 industrial plants in Europe as well a joint venture in the United States, Leostella. This JV with the Seattle-based company, BlackSky Global, is mostly dedicated to the development of the BlackSky Pathfinder-1 high revisit optical constellation. Plans have been announced to merge Telespazio, Thales Alenia Space, and the Space Systems and Space Digital divisions of Airbus Defence and Space into a new joint venture owned by Airbus (35%), Leonardo (32.5%), and Thales (32.5%). The combined entity would have had an estimated annual turnover of €6.5 billion. If approved by regulators, the new company is expected to be operational in 2027.

History Thales Alenia Space was formed following Thales Group's decision to acquire Alcatel's shares in two existing Franco-Italian joint ventures with Finmeccanica: Alcatel Alenia Space and Telespazio. Alcatel Alenia Space was established on 1 June 2005 through the merger of Alcatel Space and Alenia Spazio. The new company was owned by Alcatel-Lucent (67%) and Finmeccanica (33%). Its creation coincided with Alcatel taking a 33% stake in Finmeccanica's existing Telespazio subsidiary, which was combined with Alcatel's Space Services and Operations business. On 5 April 2006, Alcatel announced plans to sell its stakes in both Alcatel Alenia Space and Telespazio to Thales. The European Commission approved the transaction on 10 April 2007 following a competition review. The same day, Thales announced the creation of a new space alliance with Finmeccanica. According to a statement by Thales UK chief executive Alex Dorrian issued during 2007, Thales Alenia Space has actively sought out opportunities for both partnership and acquisition amongst other space enterprises. In December 2007, it was announced that Thales Alenia Space and Russian satellite specialist NPO PM have agreed to develop the new Express-4000 multi-mission satellite bus, which incorporates Russian equipment with a Thales-built payload. Since then, Thales Alenia Space has developed subcontracting relationships with North American aerospace companies, including Ball Aerospace and Boeing.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Thales Alenia Space

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Thales Alenia 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 Thales Alenia 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 Thales Alenia 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 Thales Alenia Space

In research: Thales Alenia 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 Thales Alenia 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: Thales Alenia Space is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Cannes, Companies based in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, French companies established in 2007, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Thales Alenia 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.

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How to study Thales Alenia Space in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Thales Alenia 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 Thales Alenia Space out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Thales Alenia Space in simple terms?

Why does Thales Alenia 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 Thales Alenia 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 Thales Alenia Space.