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Italian satellite SICRAL 1B ready for launch on April 19

09 April 2009

Thales Alenia Space was in charge of developing the system and building the SICRAL 1B satellite as prime contractor.

Cannes, April 9, 2009 - The SICRAL 1B satellite is scheduled for launch on April 19, on behalf of the Italian Ministry of Defence. It will be launched at 10.16 am (CET) by a Zenit-3SL rocket operating from the Sea Launch platform, positioned at the equator in the Pacific Ocean. The SICRAL 1B program is under the joint responsibility of Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio, partners in the Space Alliance for their parent companies Finmeccanica and Thales.

Once it is in geostationary orbit at about 36,000 km, SICRAL 1B will provide strategic and tactical communications services for the Italian armed forces, in Italy and abroad, as well as ensuring mobile communications with land, naval and air platforms. It will also provide NATO forces with UHF and SHF satcom capabilities, based on a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2004 by the Italian, French and British ministries of defence and the Atlantic Alliance.

SICRAL 1B is the second satellite in the SICRAL program, following the launch of SICRAL 1 in 2001. It will expand in-orbit communications capacity to meet the evolving military satellite communications requirements of both Italy and NATO. The new satellite has a design life of 13 years.

Thales Alenia Space (a Thales/Finmeccanica company) was in charge of developing the system and building the SICRAL 1B satellite as prime contractor. It is also in charge of parts of the ground segment, including the Telecommunications Control Center in Vigna di Valle, Italy.

Telespazio (a Finmeccanica/Thales company) is responsible for the satellite launch services, the launch and early orbit phase (LEOP) and testing. It also manages the ground segment (Satellite Control Center in Vigna di Valle and the Space Center in Fucino).

The SICRAL 1B program is a public-private partnership between the Italian Ministry of Defence and Finmeccanica. Based on this agreement, Telespazio contributed a significant part of the direct costs of the SICRAL 1B program, giving it part of the satellite's capacity. Telespazio can therefore take on the role of satellite operator in selling capacity and services to NATO and to the European and US defence markets.

About Thales Alenia Space
A joint venture between Thales (67%) and Finmeccanica (33%), Thales Alenia Spce is the European leader in satellite systems and a major player in orbital infrastructures. 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

About Telespazio
A joint venture between Finmeccanica (67%) and Thales (33%), is a world leader in satellite services: from management of satellites to Earth observation services, from satellite navigation to broadband multimedia telecommunications. Telespazio plays a leading role in the reference markets harnessing technological experience acquired over the years and through its participation in major European space programs. The company in 2007 employed around 1,700 staff.