Telespazio Spa is a European
spaceflight
Spaceflight (or space flight) is an application of astronautics to fly objects, usually spacecraft, into or through outer space, either with or without humans on board. Most spaceflight is uncrewed and conducted mainly with spacecraft such ...
services company founded in 1961. It is a
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...
owned by
Leonardo (67%) and
Thales Group
Thales S.A., Trade name, trading as Thales Group (), is a French multinational corporation, multinational aerospace and defence industry, defence corporation specializing in electronics. It designs, develops and manufactures a wide variety of aer ...
(33%) headquartered in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
.
Telespazio provides services that include the design and development of space systems, the management of launch services and in-orbit satellite control, Earth observation services, integrated communications, satellite navigation and localization and scientific programmes. The company manages
space infrastructure
Human presence in space (also anthropogenic presence in space or humanity in space) is the direct and mediated presence or telepresence of humans in outer space, and in an extended sense across space including astronomical body, astronomical ...
, such as the
Fucino Space Centre
The Fucino Space Centre is the largest teleport in the world for civilian uses used for the control of artificial satellites, for telecommunications and for Web hosting service, hosting, television and network services multimedia. Located in th ...
- and is involved in programmes including
Galileo
Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei ( , , ) or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a poly ...
,
EGNOS
The European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) is a satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) developed by the European Space Agency and Eurocontrol on behalf of the European Commission. Currently, it supplements GPS by reporting ...
, Copernicus,
COSMO-SkyMed, SICRAL and Göktürk.
Telespazio operates in France as Telespazio France; in Germany as
Telespazio Germany, GAF and Spaceopal; in the United Kingdom as
Telespazio UK; in Spain as Telespazio Ibérica; and in Romania as Rartel. Telespazio operates in South America through Telespazio Brasil and Telespazio Argentina. In Italy, the company is also present through e-GEOS.
History
On 18 October 1961, Telespazio was established under the auspices of several Italian organisations, including the
National Research Council (CNR) and the
Post and Telecommunications Ministry,
Italcable and
Rai.
During the following year,
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
signed a
memorandum of understanding with Telespazio to test the
Telstar
Telstar refers to a series of communications satellites. The first two, Telstar 1 and Telstar 2, were experimental and nearly identical. Telstar 1 launched atop of a Thor-Delta rocket on July 10, 1962, successfully relayed the first televisi ...
and
Relay
A relay
Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts
An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off
A relay is an electrically operated switc ...
satellites. In 1963, the first signals from the Telstar satellite were received by the new Fucino testing station (
Ortucchio, Abruzzo), the first pictures came through a few months later.
During 1964, Telespazio helped create history for its role in facilitating the first television broadcasts, directly from Fucino via the Telstar satellite.
During the following year, it signed its first agreement with communications satellite service provider
Intelsat
Intelsat S.A. (formerly Intel-Sat, Intelsat) is a Luxembourgish-American multinational satellite services provider with corporate headquarters in Luxembourg and administrative headquarters in Tysons, Virginia, United States. Originally formed ...
; in June 1965, commercial telecommunications traffic was inaugurated between North America and Europe. In 1968, Intelsat and Telespazio signed an agreement to provide the first telemetry and remote control services on Intelsat satellites. During 1969, the firm played a role in distributing the live broadcast of the
Apollo 11
Apollo 11 was a spaceflight conducted from July 16 to 24, 1969, by the United States and launched by NASA. It marked the first time that humans Moon landing, landed on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin l ...
Moon landing
A Moon landing or lunar landing is the arrival of a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon, including both crewed and robotic missions. The first human-made object to touch the Moon was Luna 2 in 1959.
In 1969 Apollo 11 was the first cr ...
across Europe.
During the 1970s, Telespazio experienced a period of expansion and diversification. During May 1974, it signed a memorandum of understanding with NASA to engage itself in the
Landsat program
The Landsat program is the longest-running enterprise for acquisition of satellite imagery of Earth. It is a joint National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA / United States Geological Survey, USGS program. On 23 July 1972, the Landsa ...
, gathering
satellite imagery
Satellite images (also Earth observation imagery, spaceborne photography, or simply satellite photo) are images of Earth collected by imaging satellites operated by governments and businesses around the world. Satellite imaging companies sell im ...
for Earth Observation purposes according to the signed in May 1974.
During that same year, Telespazio became involved in the development of the
Sirio programme, thus helping to launch the first Italian telecommunications satellite during 1977. Other major activities of the decade included the in-orbit control of satellites, and the opening of a second space centre in
Gera Lario
Gera Lario () is a (municipality) in the Province of Como in the Italy, Italian region of Lombardy, located about north of Milan and about northeast of Como. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 942 and an area of 6.7 km².All de ...
,
Lombardia
The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...
in 1977.
In the 1980s, the company continued to be involved in the development of several Italian space-related programmes, such as Italsat.
During 1983, under the auspices of CNR and subsequently, the
Italian Space Agency
The Italian Space Agency (; ASI) is a government agency established in 1988 to fund, regulate and coordinate space exploration activities in Italy. The agency cooperates with numerous national and international entities who are active in aerospac ...
(ASI), Telespazio established and managed the Matera Space Center for Geodesy Operations. In 1987, it inaugurated its third space center handling satellites communications, based in
Scanzano,
Palermo
Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...
.
On 30 May 1991, Telespazio launched the ARGO project, the first closed network equipped with small fixed antennas for emergency communications, intended for Italian civil protection.
During 1994, ''Telespazio Argentina'', based in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
, is established. On 30 April 1996, the
BeppoSAX
BeppoSAX was an Italian–Dutch satellite for X-ray astronomy which played a crucial role in resolving the origin of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), the most energetic events known in the universe. It was the first X-ray mission capable of simultaneousl ...
scientific satellite, operated by the firm, was launched.
In the following year, it founded its second subsidiary, ''Telespazio Brasil'', based in
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
. During 1998, Telespazio partnered with
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
n firm
Radiocom to establish the Rartel Company, thus developing a presence in this country as well.
That same year, the firm finalised an agreement with European satellite operator
Eutelsat
Eutelsat S.A. is a French satellite operator. Providing coverage over the entire European continent, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Americas, it has been the world's third-largest satellite operator in terms of revenues. Its subsidiary E ...
to take control and commercialise of the EMS payload carried on the Italsat F2 communications satellite.
On 7 February 2001, Italy's first military communications satellite system, the Telespazio-managed
SICRAL 1, was launched.
During December 2002, the firm became a part of the Italian aerospace conglomerate
Finmeccanica
Leonardo S.p.A., formerly Leonardo-Finmeccanica and originally Finmeccanica, is an Italian multinational company specialising in aerospace, defence and security. Headquartered in Rome, the company has 180 sites worldwide. It is the 12th largest ...
; the acquisition had involved a lengthy period of negotiation with Telespazio's former parent company,
Telecom Italia
TIM S.p.A. (formerly Telecom Italia S.p.A.) is an Italian telecommunications company with headquarters in Rome, Milan, and Naples (with the Telecom Italia Tower), which provides fixed, public and mobile telephony, and DSL data services.
It is ...
. On 25 July 2003, Telespazio acquired the German Earth observation satellite services specialist
GAF AG.
The company became a Franco-Italian
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...
on 1 July 2005, through a merger between Telespazio and the space services division of
Alcatel. Creation of the joint venture was concurrent with the creation of
Alcatel Alenia Space (now Thales Alenia Space), formed by the merger of two other Alcatel and Finmeccanica (since 2016 rebranded Leonardo-Finmeccanica) space businesses (Alcatel Space and Alenia Spazio respectively).
During 2007, the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
(EC) approved the transfer to Thales of Alcatel's interests in joint ventures Alcatel Alenia Space (Thales: 67%; Finmeccanica: 33%) and Telespazio (Finmeccanica: 67%; Thales: 33%); this restructuring resulted in the creation of a new space-orientated alliance between Thales and Finmeccanica.
Prior to approving the change, the EC had performed an in-depth investigation due to concerns that the transfer may have had a detrimental effect on downstream satellite and subsystem competition.
In January 2011, Telespazio acquired the space activities of two Finmeccanica subsidiares, the Italy-based ''Elsag Datamat Space'' and the UK-based ''VEGA'' (the latter was subsequently renamed
Telespazio VEGA UK) for an undisclosed price. On 20 September 2011, a
strike
Strike may refer to:
People
*Strike (surname)
* Hobart Huson, author of several drug related books
Physical confrontation or removal
*Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm
* Airstrike, ...
at the company reportedly caused a delay in the launch of an
Ariane 5
Ariane 5 is a retired European heavy-lift space launch vehicle operated by Arianespace for the European Space Agency (ESA). It was launched from the Guiana Space Centre (CSG) in French Guiana. It was used to deliver payloads into geostationar ...
heavy-lift launch vehicle.
During 2017, Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio formed a partnership with
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
-based
Spaceflight Industries
Spaceflight Industries, Inc. is an American private aerospace company based out of Herndon, Virginia, that specializes in geospatial intelligence services. It sold its satellite rideshare business, Spaceflight, Inc., in June 2020.
Spacefli ...
to accelerate plans for a
constellation
A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object.
The first constellati ...
of 60 Earth observation satellites. In the following year,
Orange S.A.
Orange S.A. (; formerly , stylised as france telecom) is a French multinational telecommunications corporation founded in 1988 and headquartered in Issy-les-Moulineaux, near Paris.
''Orange'' has been the corporation's main brand for mobile, ...
teamed up with the firm to provide satellite-based telecommunications to the French military.
In September 2019,
Airbus
Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate Airbus Defence and Space, defence and space and Airbus Helicopters, he ...
partnered with Telespazio to market military telecommunications services using the future
Syracuse IV satellites.
See also
*
Leonardo
*
List of Italian companies
Italy is a Unitary state, unitary parliamentary republic in Europe with the third largest nominal Gross domestic product, GDP in the Eurozone and the eighth List of countries by GDP (nominal), largest in the world. As an advanced economy, the cou ...
References
External links
Telespazio website
{{Authority control
Aerospace companies of Italy
Space program of Italy
Telecommunications companies of Italy
Technology companies established in 1961
Italian companies established in 1961
Italian brands
Companies based in Rome
Leonardo S.p.A.
Thales Group joint ventures