Thales Alenia Space and ISS Reshetnev to bolster partnership by creating Joint Venture
November 18, 2011
Thales Alenia Space and ISS Reshetnev signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as the first step in creating a joint venture between the two companies. The MoU was signed in Moscow, in a ceremony attended by senior government officials from both countries, including prime ministers Vladimir Putin and François Fillon, the French Minister of Research and Technology, Laurent Vauquiez, and the French ambassador to Russia, Jean de Gliniasty.
Thales Alenia Space and ISS Reshetnev have carried out advanced work since 2004, combining their high standards in terms of quality, design and development, to jointly win contracts. This was initially the case for the Express A and AM series of satellites for the Russian operator RSCC. To date, Thales Alenia Space has participated in 30 programs in conjunction with Russian industry.
Through this latest accord, the two companies agreed on a framework and a timetable for talks to create a competitive commercial and industrial joint venture, capable of assembling and integrating communications satellites and payloads for the Russian and international markets, as well as developing a new platform and equipment for high-power communications satellites.
With their long-standing partnership reaching back to 1993, ISS and Thales Alenia Space wanted to take a new step forward by creating this joint venture, one that will benefit from the program management and control processes already applied by Thales Alenia Space to its communications satellites and payloads in its integration facilities. The new joint venture will be capable of assembling, integrating and testing world-class communications satellites and payloads based on existing line of products. It will also be able to jointly develop, produce and integrate new communications satellite platforms offering more than 12 kW of power, as well as components and subassemblies for satellite platforms and payloads.
"Building on more than 18 years of industrial and commercial teamwork, and with 19 communications satellites built jointly for the Russian and international markets, Thales Alenia Space and ISS Reshetnev are today bringing their collaboration to a new level," said Reynald Seznec, President and CEO of Thales Alenia Space. "Our partnership with ISS is strategic, and Thales Alenia Space will continue to extend our collaboration with the Russian space industry and its recognized experts to develop increasingly sophisticated and powerful satellites that meet the requirements of the Russian and international markets."
