Welcoming Thierry Breton, Thomas Dermine and Paul Magnette in Thales Alenia Space’s Charleroi plant

I was delighted to welcome today a delegation including European Commissioner Thierry Breton, Thomas Dermine, Belgian Federal Secretary of State for Recovery and Strategic Investments and Paul Magnette, Mayor of Charleroi.

This visit was a perfect opportunity to spotlight the company’s advanced products and solutions, including satellite digitalization for greater mission flexibility, constellations, all-electric propulsion, and sustainable space. Additional discussions referred to New Space and to the open innovation approach that consists in working hand in hand with SMEs and startups to develop very innovate space solutions.

Picture on the top right - From left to right: Hervé Derrey, Thierry Breton, Ina Maller, Thomas Dermine and Paul Magnette, Mayor of Charleroi © Thales Alenia Space

Today’s event was also a real pride for Thales Alenia Space’s teams in Charleroi as our company is actually the largest Belgian manufacturer of space electronics and the world leader in satellite power supplies.  

Space INSPIRE: a software-defined solution now leading the telecom market

Space INSPIRE © Thales Alenia Space

The digital transformation is now running in the space sector, and Europe is leading the charge for software-defined flexible satellites with all-electric propulsion for all types of satellites. Thales Alenia Space’s Space INSPIRE product line, featuring ultra-flexible and fully reprogrammable-in-orbit payloads, has been chosen by major telecom operators, who expect increasingly innovative and agile solutions to comply their fast-evolving markets. As matter of fact, our company has recently been ordered 5 Space INSPIRE telecommunications satellites in a row over a 6-month period.

Open Innovation & New Space

Thales Alenia Space now enjoys links with more than 700 startups and small businesses, and already has joint projects underway with 150 of these companies. Production processes are evolving as well, due to the introduction of additive manufacturing, robotics and cobotics, plus the creation of FabLabs and an innovation cluster. Thales Alenia Space is fully committed to the ongoing digitalization of its products and has already teamed up with innovative small businesses to start the development of state-of-the-art smallsats and nanosats.

Embracing the New Space era

Kinéis consteallation © Thales Alenia Space

Thales Alenia Space is actively engaged with startups with a global strategy to detect and collaborate with the best players. This has led for instance to the insertion of technological innovations in our products, such as Anywaves' antennas or 3D printing designed by SwissTo12, to name a few.  

Our company leveraged its expertise in constellations, navigation, Earth observation and even orbital infrastructures to address emerging New Space markets linked to the Internet of Things with key examples such as Kinéis or Omnispace, or high revisit optical Earth Observation. The creation of Leostella, a JV with BlackSky, which manufactures the associated constellation for high revisit Earth observation and also supplies Loft Orbital with satellite platforms, is part of this dynamic. In the field of space exploration, the company is manufacturing two pressurized modules for Axiom Space’s first commercial space station.

Innovation means teaming up

At a time when European space sovereignty, whether in terms of industrial capacity or economics, has become a key challenge, it’s absolutely vital that all players work hand in hand to leverage the synergies and complementary capabilities of the space sector. Europe’s objectives include the development of major programs like the secure connectivity satellite constellation project. Thales Alenia Space is ready to bring to the table our world-class expertise in communications constellations to support this initiative, which is crucial to the everyday lives and security of all Europeans

Thanks again to Thierry Breton, Thomas Dermine and Paul Magnette for joining us today.