06 October 2021 20:00
Today the presentation of Telespazio Belgium was held at the Italian Embassy in Brussels. Incorporated in July 2021, the company, owned by Telespazio, a joint venture between Leonardo (67%) and Thales (33%), is a global service provider in the field of satellite solutions and services.
Speakers at the event included the Belgium's Minister of Agriculture and SMEs, David Clarinval, Belgium's Secretary of State for Economic Recovery and Strategic Investments, Thomas Dermine, Italian Ambassador to Belgium, Francesco Genuardi, Coordinator of Space Activities at Leonardo and CEO of Telespazio, Luigi Pasquali, and CEO of Telespazio Belgium, Federico Rossi.
Telespazio Belgium can rely on the experience it gained over the years within the Vitrociset group and, from today, it can also count on the competences developed by Telespazio in the sector of technological innovation applied to space services during its 60 year-long activity. In particular, in the area of integrated communications and satellite navigation, in geoinformation services combined with artificial intelligence and big data analytics, in space operations and in solutions for the new satellite constellations, in the field of space domain awareness and in drone services.
“In the Space industry, among other fields, there is a special collaboration - one destined to grow and strengthen going forward - between Italy and Belgium, as evidenced by the event that I hosted today at the Embassy, attended by the Secretary of State, Thomas Dermine, entrusted with space issues, and David Clarinval, Minister for Agriculture and SMEs. Space activities are becoming an increasingly important element of the European and global economic scenario and, through technological developments in the sector, contribute significantly to growth dynamics. World Space Week, during which today’s event was celebrated, offers an important opportunity to underscore the importance of the contribution that space, science and technology are making to improving the human condition, as well as the need to involve more women in this strategic sector. Through its productive, scientific and academic system, Italy is playing a significant role in this regard, ranking 3rd on a Europe scale and 7th on the world scene”, said Francesco Genuardi, Italian Ambassador to Belgium.
“It was an honour for us to have been hosted in the Italian Embassy in Brussels and I’d like to thank Ambassador Genuardi and all his staff for having given us the possibility to illustrate the work and the prospects of a new company like Telespazio Belgium. Over the last few years, the space sector in this country has played an increasingly strategic role thanks to the Italian government’s important and ambitious development plan for the industry. Telespazio Belgium has joined Telespazio, an international group with skills and professionalism developed over 60 years that aims to support Belgium’s ambitions in the field of space, both in the current programmes, such as Copernicus, EGNOS and Galileo, and in new and innovative areas of activity”, said Luigi Pasquali, Coordinator of Space Activities at Leonardo and CEO of Telespazio.
About Telespazio Belgium
Established following the full integration of the space activities of Vitrociset Belgium in Telespazio, today Telespazio Belgium can count on a 150-strong workforce of 24 different nationalities, 35% of whom are women. The average age of the employees is 39 years old, and they operate from the headquarters in Transinne and the customers’ premises. The company is active in the Benelux area, a strategic market including not only Belgium but also the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
Telespazio Belgium operates in various fields of activity, from the supply of engineering design services for customers like the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) of the European Space Agency (ESA) in Noordwijk in the Netherlands, to the provision of engineering services for operations and of satellite operations to the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) of the ESA in Darmstadt, Germany.
Telespazio also plays a key role in Galileo, the European Union’s satellite positioning and navigation programme, and in EGNOS. From Transinne, the company provides Galileo with logistics engineering services and activities of integration, operations and operational support for ground systems, operating the Integrated Logistics Hub in Galileo (GILSC) on behalf of the Galileo operator Spaceopal, a joint venture between Telespazio and the German Space Agency DLR.
The company is also committed to the development of technological elements and integrated applicative systems related to logistics, satellite monitoring systems and satellite navigation, as well as in the rocket ground segment, in radar and optical tracking systems and in the meteorological systems that support space launches, specifically for the lightweight European VEGA rocket programme.
Within its development plan, Telespazio Belgium aims to consolidate its competences and integrate them as effectively as possible within the scope of the Telespazio group, which today has over 3,000 employees in 13 countries around the world. Telespazio Belgium presents itself to the Belgian state authorities with its technological excellence, focusing both on the competences acquired in the large European programmes in which it participates, such as Galileo, EGNOS and Copernicus, and also in the development of new areas of activity, such as, for example everything related to services and skills in the field of cybersecurity for satellites and drones.