Thales Alenia Space inked contract for Franco- Italian satellite: Athena-Fidus
The company announced a contract has been inked with the French and Italian space agencies for a broadband civil and military telecommunications satellite.
According to AFP, Thales Alenia Space, European leader in satellite systems, announced in a press release today that “a contract has been signed with the French and Italian space agencies, CNES and ASI, to develop, construct, test and provide in orbit a broadband civil and military telecommunications satellite, Athena-Fidus.”
The satellite will add new resources to the French and Italian ministries of defence, in addition civil security organisations such as police and fire departments will also benefit from the new resources offered by the satellite.
With a launch weight of over three metric tons, the satellite is expected to be launched in 2013 by Arianespace.
While the exact amount of the contract has not been revealed, the specialist magazine Space News estimates that it is in the order of 275 Million euros.
Thales Alenia Space, which was set-up in April 2007, has decided to locate its corporate and operational headquarters in Cannes. The group is held 67 % by Thales and 33 % by Finmeccanica, and employs 7,200 people on 11 industrial sites in France, Italy, Spain and Belgium.