TAS-UK Thales Alenia Space United Kingdom

TAS-UK is a subsidiary company of Thales Alenia Space. A joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), Thales Alenia Space is a key supplier of satellite and orbital infrastructure solutions. The company develops the very latest space and ground segment technologies for scientific, commercial, military and security applications. It is a global market leader in telecommunications, navigation, space exploration and Earth observation, particularly for weather forecasting, altimetry, oceanography and environmental management applications. The company, which achieved revenues of Euro 2.3 billion in 2012, has a total of 7,200 employees located in 10 industrial sites in France, Italy, Spain, Germany and Belgium.

TAS-UK was established in 2013 and is the latest in Thales Alenia Space’s growing European footprint. In June 2014 as part of this expansion strategy, TAS-UK acquired the space division of Bristol-based SEA. With the transfer of staff, TAS-UK now comprises over 100 people, the majority of whom are engineers.

TAS-UK’s development has arisen from three capability areas:

• The first area for growth within the UK is propulsion. TAS-UK has been selected to be the TAS competence centre for satellite propulsion and there is an on-going programme of capability and design transfer accompanied by recruitment growth and facility set-up that has been underway since 2014. TAS-UK is supported in this activity by strategic action at the highest level within TAS and by the operating teams in both France and Italy. TAS-UK is developing product lines covering chemical propulsion systems (mono-propellant and bi-propellant) and electric propulsion systems (GEO, MEO/LEO, constellations).
• Secondly, the creation of a research and development centre headquartered in Harwell, Oxfordshire, focused on exploration, science R&T and prime engineering with a view to support the long-term technology roadmaps of international space agencies.
• Thirdly, as an integrator of Avionics subsystems the ability to join core teams for exploration programs and scientific projects. Through the acquisition, TAS-UK has a strong, global, reputation in developing this technology and its advancement in spacecraft programs.