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Tranquility Node and Cupola, developed by Thales Alenia Space, continue their path towards next year launch

20 November 2009

Tranquillity Node ownership is transferred from ESA to NASA during a ceremony at the Kennedy Space Centre today.

Cape Canaveral, November 20, 2009 – Astronauts on board the International Space station are moving a step closer to getting extra living and working space as the Tranquillity Node and the Cupola continue their journey towards their scheduled delivery to the space station early next year. Built by Thales Alenia Space in Italy for the European Space Agency, the Tranquillity Node ownership is being transferred from ESA to NASA during a ceremony at the Kennedy Space Centre today.

Luigi Pasquali, President and CEO of Thales Alenia Space Italy, confirms: “It makes me very proud to be able to say that Thales Alenia Space plays such a key international role in the ambitious Space Station project. Our company has developed more than 50% of the pressurised elements, the living spaces of this orbiting complex. Thales Alenia Space is proud to be one of the major international industrial players involved in the development of orbiting infrastructures and space return and transport systems".

Along with Node 3, the Cupola will also join the Space Station onboard Endeavour’s STS-130 Mission. Cupola, which was also developed by Thales Alenia Space, is a spectacular technological, robotised control room, which will allow the astronauts to see and work through seven windows, looking out 360° around the International Space Station.

The Nodes are key elements of the International Space Station’s architecture. They enable the interconnection and management of the various pressurised modules. Two out of three were designed and built by Thales Alenia Space in Italy for the European Space Agency: Node 2 Harmony, and its twin Node 3 Tranquillity.

Node 3 will help complete and extend the Station, also providing it with far more advanced functions: water recycling and oxygen regeneration, thereby revitalising the air and removing toxic substances, monitoring and measuring all elements. Tranquillity will house the Cupola and provide further docks for future space vehicles.

Thales Alenia Space is also in charge of the provision of the necessary support to NASA for final checks and launch preparation. These activities are set to continue throughout all stages of the next mission and are provided by ALTEC, a company set up jointly by Thales Alenia Space, the Italian Space Agency and public entities from Italy’s Piedmont region.

“This new step marks an extremely important event”, highlights Luigi Maria Quaglino, Senior Vice President for Thales Alenia Space’s Transport Systems and Space Infrastructures business. "It is a sign of NASA’s full acknowledgement of the unique nature of our work, skills and industrial credibility in developing high-technology, 100% reliable elements”.

In Turin, the company has also developed many important elements for the International Space Station. Apart from Node 2, Node 3 and the Cupola, Thales Alenia Space is also prime contractor for the three pressurised Multi-Purpose Logistics Modules (MPLM): Leonardo, Raffaello and Donatello. The company is also one of the main developers of the scientific laboratory Columbus and of the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV). It is indeed thanks to these successes that Thales Alenia Space has recently been awarded an important NASA contract for Orbital Sciences, for the design and development of nine pressurised modules under the scope of the Commercial Resupply Services programme.

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