Space

Thales Alenia Space to supply repeaters equipment for Russian satellites Loutch-5A and Loutch-5B

19 June 2007

Paris Air Show Le Bourget, June 19, 2007 - Thales Alenia Space announced today that it has signed a contract with Russian satellite manufacturer NPO-PM to supply two repeater equipment sets for the Loutch-5A and Loutch-5B communications satellites ordered by Russian space agency (Roskosmos).

The contract was signed on the opening day of the Paris Air Show, June 18, in a ceremony attended by Pascale Sourisse, President and CEO of Thales Alenia Space and Nicolai Alekseevich Testoedov, General Designer and Director General of NPO-PM.

The Loutch geostationary relay satellites will be positioned at 16 degrees West and 95 degrees East, and will provide TV and data communications links between the International Space Station and the ground as well as control of LEO spacecraft during all life stages, including launchers, boosters. The satellites are scheduled for launch in 2009 and 2010. The repeater equipment on Loutch-5A will offer six S and Ku-band channels, while Loutch 5B will offer four S and Ku-band channels. These repeater equipment will be integrated on platforms supplied by NPO-PM.

"We are delighted to sign this latest contract with our industrial partners at NPO-PM," said Pascale Sourisse, President and CEO of Thales Alenia Space. "We have worked very closely with them for nearly 15 years on contracts for the Russian operator RSCC. In particular, through this contract we are very proud of extending this partnership to encompass the Russian space agency."

Since kicking off its collaboration with Russian partners in the mid-1990s, Thales Alenia Space has supplied or is in the process of building a total of 14* communication payloads for the Russian market.

* 11 payloads for the Express AM platform, and three for the Express MD platform.

About Thales Alenia Space
European leader in satellite systems and at the forefront of orbital infrastructures, Thales Alenia Space is a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Finmeccanica (33%). Together with Telespazio, Thales Alenia Space forms the "Space Alliance" between the two groups. The company is a worldwide reference in telecoms, radar and optical Earth observation, defense and security, navigation and science. With 7200 employees and 11 industrial sites, Thales Alenia Space is located in France, Italy, Spain and Belgium. www.thalesaleniaspace.com