Space
Insights
ALTEN in Space
Explore New Spaces
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Space exploration is one of humanity’s most exciting and daring endeavors. Since Galilee’s use of the telescope in the 17th century to the recent SpaceX human space flights, space has captivated the imagination of people around the world.
With new technologies and innovations, the possibilities for exploration are endless, and the potential for discovery is boundless.
Private sector flies into space
The private sector’s enthusiasm for space continues to boost the sector and will democratize new applications (space travel, satellite imagery, internet via satellite, data processing, Internet of Things (IoT), etc.). The current geopolitical context triggers new developments and innovations regarding the space defense strategy.
After the success of the American New Space (Space X, Blue Origin, etc.), it is now Europe’s turn to encourage the development of the private sector. Partnerships are increasing between the ESA and traditional industries companies and start‑ups.
In the same time, the space industry is accompanying states in the protection of the cosmos and space assets, through new technologies and cybersecurity.
ALTEN, your key partner to cover the full scope of space development
ALTEN has a partnership history of over 20 years with the space industry’s leading stakeholders. We are an active participant in changing landscape, and a top supplier of satellite engineering and integration services. From spacecrafts to satellites, all the way to ground segment and downstream, ALTEN is involved in the complete value chain of the space sector. We support our customers throughout studies, development, manufacturing, integration, tests and operations as one of the top suppliers.
ALTEN in the space industy
60M€
2023 turnover
600
consultants
10+
countries
3
domains of expertise in space : Launchers, satellites, ground operations
What are the market trends in the space industry?
New private actors and the miniaturization of electronics have shaken up access to space. It has switched quickly from “custom-built” satellites worth more than €100 million with an operational lifespan of 15 years, to mass-produced satellites (weekly manufactured), costing just tens of thousands of euros and lasting between 3 and 5 years.
For 5 years, the launch of nano/micro satellites has increased: by 2030, more than 1,000 satellites are sent into orbit. These figures are still in progress, some companies are planning to send several tens of thousands of satellites into orbit. It’s the race for mega-constellations!
Challenges:
- Implement serial production of satellites
- Triple the frequency of launches
- Reduce the risk of collision in orbit
- Constellation management
- Address the problem of space debris and satellite end-of-life
Launching a satellite can account for nearly a third of the overall cost. In this context, reducing launch costs is a key factor of competitiveness in the space sector.
While Ariane 6 promises costs 40% lower than Ariane 5’s, Europe wants to go further by developing a reusable liquid oxygen engine demonstrator (Prometheus) to divide the cost of current engine production by 10. On the American side, SpaceX aims to reuse a launcher within 24 hours and to halve the cost of the mission.
Challenges:
- Speed up time to market of new launchers
- Set up a clocked and serial production system and in series
- Qualify the solutions of reusable launchers and micro-launchers
As one of the largest collectors of environmental and climate data, the space sector wants to share and make accessible its data and above all monetize it by creating new services with added value (i.e. meteorological and agricultural harvest predictions, traffic management, IoT services).
Challenges:
- Master new IT technologies (Cloud, Big Data, AI, etc.)
- Transform the industrial and economic model
- Rethink the ground segment’s IT architecture
- Make data easily accessible to end users
ALTEN Value Proposition
ALTEN’s functional sectors
- Mechanical, Aerodynamics & Thermal Design and Analysis
- Models, Studies, Calculations, Thermal, Aerodynamics
- Configuration Management
- Orbit determination & control
- Ground means engineering
- Verification & Validation
- Industrialization
- Space systems Design & Validation: Thermal & Mechanical,
Avionics, RF, Optical instruments AOCS - AIT: Procedures & Tests
- Flight Software: development & validation
- System & network administrator, DB
- Design infrastructure & IVV
- Space-Ground communication
- Preparation & Support of flight operations
- Data processing (scientific algorithms, infrastructure, valorisation)
- Test sequences, synoptics and tools development
Our Success Stories
Modular, flexible and competitive, the new European launcher is intended to nearly provide the best launch solution to businesses and institutions. As a historical partner of aerospace manufacturers, ALTEN actively participates in their development in various domains (structure, thermal, flight mechanical engineering, etc.).
ALTEN capitalizes on more than 25 years of know-how in preparations for the assembly, validation tests and final integration (before launch) of various satellites for CNES and other industrial customers.
To provide very-high-speed internet and customized services worldwide there are projects of constellations (hundreds/thousands of mini-satellites in a low orbit its commissioning soon . ALTEN is also involved on the mechanical design and thermal calculations for these small satellites.
There are many domains of application for Earth observation such as the environment, defense, geology, climatology, telecommunications, and IoT objects. ALTEN supports studies and development of the image processing chains for the satellite observation systems of a major player in the space sector.
Space mechanics: meet ALTEN’s teams!
Our engineers invite you with passion to enter their world and discover:
- Their professions: architecture, design, detailed analyses, integration, tests…
- Their fields of application: satellites, orbital infrastructures, launchers, rovers…
They even make a stop at Phobos, an enigmatic Martian moon, to give you a glimpse behind the scenes of a flagship CNES project in which ALTEN is involved: the MMX rover!
Fasten your seatbelts, imminent departure for space!
OUR CLIENTS
Space manufacturer & equipment supplier
Airbus D&S, Thales Alenia Space
Launch industry
ArianeGroup, United Launch Alliance…
Space agency
CNES
NewSpace
OneWeb, Hemeria, Absolut Sensing, Kinéis, Exotrail…
