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Satnews Daily
October 6th, 2013

Thales Alenia Space Prepares To Launch.... A New Facility In Leuven, Belgium


[SatNews] In particular, this new facility will offer design services focused on Europe's new launchers.

Thales Alenia Space Belgium announced that it will build a new plant in Leuven, which will start operations in the first half of 2014.

This strategic new facility reflects Thales Alenia Space's growing role in Belgium, a country that is fully committed to the programs developed by the European Space Agency (ESA).


University of Leuven Belgium

The new structure will initially have a team of about 20 engineers, tasked with developing new avionics products and technologies for satellites and launch vehicles. The facility will work closely with the company's microelectronics center of expertise in Leuven, as well as with Thales Alenia Space's Charleroi plant.

According to Emmanuel Terrasse, Vice President for R&D and Business Development, "By setting up this new operation in Leuven, Thales Alenia Space Belgium will strengthen its leadership in the Belgian space industry. In particular, this new facility will offer design services focused on Europe's new launchers. Our aim is to develop innovative solutions that will enable us to carve out a position as the primary supplier for avionics and other electronics equipment on Ariane 6."

Thales Alenia Space is a joint venture between Thales (67 percent) and Finmeccanica (33 percent). Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio embody the two groups’ “Space Alliance”. Thales Alenia Space offers solutions for space telecommunications, radar and optical Earth observation, defense and security, navigation and science. With consolidated revenues of 2.1 billion euros in 2012, Thales Alenia Space has 7,500 employees in France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Belgium and United States.