Calepin des entreprises international 2026 VA.pdf — page 211

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THALES ALENIA SPACE
Business trends
	
 Thales Alenia Space (TAS) revenues increased 1.4% in 2024 to reach €2.23 billion. Observation, Exploration 
and Navigation (OEN) and Defence activities performed well, whereas the commercial telecommunications 
market suffered from by weak demand.
	
 In October 2025, Thales Alenia Space inaugurated the Space Smart Factory, a satellite production facility, in 
Rome. Representing an investment of more than €100 million (co-financed by the Italian Space Agency, Thales 
and Leonardo), the facility is expected to be operational by the end of the year and will be able to produce more 
than 100 satellites per year (weighing less than 300 kg). Initial work will focus on the Galileo 2nd Generation 
and Copernicus programmes and the Sicral 3 telecommunications satellites for the Ministry of Defence of Italy.
	
 Airbus, Thales and Leonardo reached an agreement in October 2025 to merge their satellite activities. The aim 
is to create a joint entity comprising Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio (joint ventures between Thales and 
Leonardo) and owned 35% by Airbus, 32.5% by Thales and 32.5% by Leonardo. The transaction is subject to 
approval by the European Commission. It would create Europe’s leading satellite manufacturer, with revenues 
of around €6.5 billion.
Home markets (France, Italy)
	
 In January 2025, TAS signed two contracts with the European Space Agency (ESA), one worth €862 million 
to supply the Lunar Descent Element (LDE) for the Argonaut lunar lander, and the other worth €367 million 
to produce the EnVision satellite, dedicated to the exploration of Venus from 2033 onwards. The group also 
signed an €88 million contract with OHB to develop the payload for the third satellite of the CO2M mission 
(Copernicus programme).
	
 As prime contractor for ESA’s Moonlight programme to create a constellation of satellites around the Moon, 
Telespazio entrusted TAS with the development of the in-orbit navigation system in March 2025. The group will 
supply four satellites and will be responsible for the ground infrastructure for network management and control.
	
 In April 2025, the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) awarded Thales Alenia Space 
a €51 million contract to extend the operational service of the European satellite navigation system EGNOS 
beyond 2028.
	
 Thales Alenia Space is participating in ESA’s LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) mission, the first 
space observatory dedicated to the study of gravitational waves, consisting of three satellites to be launched 
in 2035. In June 2025, the group signed a €263 million contract with OHB to supply the avionics and satellite 
control software, the telecommunications system and the Drag-Free and Attitude Control System (DFACS).
	
 As part of the Artemis programme, TAS signed a contract with the Italian Space Agency (ASI) in July 2025 to 
develop the Multi-Purpose Habitation (MPH) module, scheduled for launch in 2033.
	
 In September 2025, Thales Alenia Space was awarded a risk mitigation contract worth over €400 million for 
technologies to be used in the payloads of the satellites in the future European IRIS² constellation.
Export markets
	
 In winter 2025, Norwegian operator Space Norway and Japanese operator SKY Perfect JSAT ordered the 
THOR 8 and JSAT-32 telecommunications satellites, respectively, both scheduled for launch in 2027.
	
 In July 2025, LuxGovSat, a joint venture between the Luxembourg government and satellite operator SES, 
ordered a geostationary secure communications satellite, named GovSat-2. Intended for military applications, 
the satellite will be based on Thales Alenia Space’s Spacebus 4000B2 platform.
Technology and Innovation
	
 In October 2025, Thales Alenia Space signed a contract with the ESA to develop a quantum key distribution 
system designed to secure communications. In July 2025, the group also partnered with Singaporean start-up 
SpeQtral, which specialises in quantum satellite communication technologies.
STRATEGIC HIGHLIGHTS