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Corot scientific satellite built by Alcatel Alenia Space and CNES leaves France for Baikonur

15 November 2006

The Corot scientific satellite built by French space agency CNES as prime contractor left the Alcatel Alenia Space plant in Cannes during the night of November 13 to 14 on its way to the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Arianespace will launch this satellite by Christmas, using a Soyuz 2-1b launch vehicle.

The Corot mission is a world first, with French space agency CNES leading a number of French laboratories (from national scientific research agency CNRS), and participants from the international scientific community, mainly in Europe (ESA, plus partners in Germany, Austria, Belgium and Spain), but also in Brazil.

The Corot mission has two main objectives. The first is to study the internal structure of stars using asteroseismology (observation of oscillation modes, which indirectly sounds the interior of stars). Corot will study hundreds of stars for nearly three years, in order to determine their mass, age and composition. This is a key to better understanding our universe, since it is in stars, at different phases of their life, that the chemical elements making up the universe are formed.

The second mission objective is the detection of planets outside our solar system, by measuring changes in the observed visual brightness when a planet passes in front of its parent star's disc (transit method). Scientists believe that they will be able to discover from a few to several tens of "exoplanets" with diameters of up to about 1.5 times the diameter of the Earth, in configurations that resemble the solar system in terms of type of star and orbit.

The Corot mission marks the third use of the Proteus platform developed by Alcatel Alenia Space in collaboration with CNES. The first is the Jason-1 oceanographic altimetry satellite, which recently celebrated its fifth year in orbit. The second is the Calipso climatology satellite, part of a French-American climate study program, which was launched in April 2006 to join the so-called "A-Train" constellation, forming an exceptional space observatory.

About CNES
France affirmed its space ambitions from a very early stage. As a result of its efforts, it has now achieved independent access to space and is a key mover behind Europe's space policy and international cooperation. Over the years, CNES, the French Space Agency, has built up end-to-end expertise in implementing space systems, working with expert contractors and research laboratories. Through its ability to innovate and its foresight, it is helping to expand knowledge, foster the emergence of new technologies that will benefit the whole of society, and develop space applications. http://www.cnes.fr/.

About Alcatel Alenia Space
Alcatel Alenia Space is the European leader in satellite systems, at the forefront of orbit infrastructures. Created in July 2005, the company brings together the vast experience and know-how of Alcatel Space and Alenia Spazio to form a new leading force in European space technology. Alcatel Alenia Space represents a worldwide standard for space development that impacts everybody's future: from navigation to telecommunications, from meteorology to environmental monitoring, from defense to science and observation. Alcatel Alenia Space is an affiliate of Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA and NYSE: ALA) (67%) and Finmeccanica (Milan:SIFI.MI, FNC.IM) (33%).