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SMOS Earth observation satellite successfully launched

02 November 2009

Thales Alenia Space main industrial partner for this mission to better understand climate change.

Cannes, November 2, 2009 –The SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) Earth observation satellite has been successfully launched by a Rockot launcher from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia.

SMOS is a joint mission conducted by the European Space Agency (ESA), which is coordinating the mission in partnership with the French space agency CNES and the CDTI (Center for the Development of Industrial Technology) of Spain.

Thales Alenia Space, the main industrial partner for this program, has provided the Proteus multi-mission module (developed in cooperation with CNES) and was in charge of the overall satellite integration and qualification tests. The instrument, a L-band radiometer-interferometer, comprises an antenna with three 4-meter deployable arms fitted with 69 passive receivers; it was developed under Spanish responsibility and built by EADS CASA.

SMOS is the first satellite dedicated to soil moisture and ocean salinity study. Its main mission is to provide global maps of high sensitivity and resolution with a large spatial and temporal coverage. These global data (moisture and salinity) will extend our knowledge of the water cycle and improve hydrological and meteorological models, especially for climate variation and extreme events forecasting. In addition, observations over regions of ice and snow will contribute to studies of the cryosphere.

SMOS is the fifth satellite based on the Proteus multimission platform (following Jason 1 and 2, Calipso and COROT) and the fourth in this series dedicated to Earth observation and climate change studies.

Thales Alenia Space is a leading player in nearly all of the environmental monitoring and Earth observation programs in Europe. In addition to the famous meteorological satellite Meteosat, the Meris imager on Envisat monitors oceans, coastal areas, clouds and vegetation, while the IASI sounder on Metop delivers atmospheric profiles. The Calipso satellite investigates aerosols and the Siral instrument on Cryosat will measure the thickness of ice sheets and monitor fresh water flows caused by polar cap meltdown. GOCE and its unique 3-axis gravitometer will provide the most accurate baseline geoid ever, to serve as a reference for all other measurements. At least, COSMO-SkyMed satellites and Pleaides instruments are dedicated to environment as well as Sentinel 1 and 3 in the frame of GMES program.

About Thales Alenia Space
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, defense and security, navigation and science. The company, which achieved revenues of Euro 2 billion in 2008, has a total of 7,200 employees located in 11 industrial sites in France, Italy, Spain and Belgium.
www.thalesaleniaspace.com

Thales Alenia Space Press Contacts
Florence Pontieux - Tel: +33 (0)1 57 77 91 26 - florence.pontieux@thalesaleniaspace.com
Sandrine Bielecki - Tel: +33 (0)4 92 92 70 94 - sandrine.bielecki@thalesaleniaspace.com