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Space

Thales Alenia Space España contributed to the ATV that will be launched to the ISS

27 February 2008

Madrid, February 27, 2008 - Thales Alenia Space España, a subsidiary of Thales Alenia Space, is proud to announce that it has contributed to the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) that will be launched from Kourou, French Guiana, by an Ariane-5 launcher on March 7, 2008 to the International Space Station (ISS).

The ATV, developed under an ESA contract by prime contractor Astrium Space Transportation , will carry up to five tons of cargo including air, food and water, scientific payloads and as well as refuelling propellant for the station itself. Once docked to the ISS, the vehicle can use its propulsion system to boost the Space Station higher in its orbit, thus counteracting the faint drag from the Earth's atmosphere.

Thales Alenia Space España's role includes the development, manufacture, integration, test campaign and supply of advanced communication equipment contributing to the ATV rendezvous manoeuvres with the ISS and to the provision of Tracking Telemetry and Command (TTC) communications. The company has also provided other complex equipment, such as the Solar Array Drive Electronic (SADE) driving the deployment mechanisms of the ATV solar arrays and the TDRSS S-Band Hermetic Diplexers.

The TTC Transponders are considered as one of the most critical equipment:

* The TDRSS (Tracking Data Relay Satellite System) transponders:
This transponder will handle the ATV communications with the TTC ground stations via the NASA Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS).
* The PLIST and PLAST transponders:
They will establish a TTC proximity link communication between the ATV (through PLAST Transponder) and ISS (through PLIST Transponder) and will eventually support the ATV docking manoeuvres, using spread spectrum techniques.

Thales Alenia Space España TDRSS, PLIST and PLAST transponders, are the first and only European units of these kinds, qualified as the most advanced transponder currently available.

Thales Alenia Space España is a European leading supplier of S-band communication subsystems, involved in the development of advanced communication repeaters and subsystems for mobile TV broadcasting.

About Thales Alenia Space
The European leader in satellite systems and a major player in orbital infrastructures, Thales Alenia Space is a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Finmeccanica (33%). Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio embody the two groups' "Space Alliance". Thales Alenia Space sets the global standard in solutions for space telecoms, radar and optical Earth observation, defence and security, navigation and science. The company has a total of 7,200 employees and 11 industrial sites, with locations in France, Italy, Spain and Belgium. www.thalesaleniaspace.com

Acerca de Thales Alenia Space España
Es la compañía española subsidiaría de Thales Alenia Space, es líder europeo en Subsistemas y Equipos Espaciales, Radiofrecuencia Pasiva y Procesamiento de la señal a bordo, con participación en más de 95 programas de satélites, con aplicación en telecomunicaciones, observación de la tierra óptica y radar, ciencia, navegación e infraestructura espacial



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