Farnborough, 24 July 2000
This year, Astrium will be at Farnborough for the first time on the stands of its two shareholders, EADS in Hall 5 and BAE Systems in its Partnership Village. The merger of the major space companies of three of Europe's principal space nations, France, Germany and the United Kingdom, was completed in May 2000. Matra Marconi Space and the space activities of DaimlerChryslerAerospace are now operating as one company. Astrium's main activities in Military programmes, Earth Observation & Science, Telecommunications & Navigation and Space Infrastructure, will be displayed. In Military programmes, Astrium is currently carrying out studies for the next generation of military communications satellites which will provide improved capacity, performance and services: SKYNET 5 for the UK Ministry of Defence and SYRACUSE III for the French Ministry of Defence. In reconnaissance, the HELIOS II programme, comprising two optical spacecraft, will ensure the continuity of the current programme with HELIOS I satellites already in orbit. In Germany, the system definition phase for SARlupe, a radar reconnaissance system, will begin in the next few months In Telecommunications, the Company will be presenting its new EUROSTAR 3000 satellite, which is perfectly adapted to the new, more demanding, telecommunications missions. Since the beginning of this year, three of the world's most important international organisations Intelsat, Inmarsat and Eutelsat have, between them, ordered six spacecraft, five of them being the new high power EUROSTAR 3000 spacecraft. Also on display will be a range of satellite equipment illustrating the considerable breadth and depth of Astrium's expertise in the field of spacecraft and payload systems and avionics. In the area of Satellite Navigation Astrium will be promoting its capabilities and its links with the EC/ESA Galileo programme through its newly formed Galileo Industries consortium. In Earth Observation and Science Astrium gives special attention to: - Cluster-II the fleet of four satellites, 2 of which were successfully launched on 16th July 2000, to explore the interaction of the Sun on the Earth. The Cluster-II spacecraft were developed and built by Astrium for the European Space Agency(ESA). - Mars Express, the first European spacecraft to visit the planet Mars, in 2003, will enable scientists to detect sub-surface water on the Red Planet. Astrium is also involved in the design and manufacture of the Beagle 2 lander, to be carried by the Mars Express spacecraft. This project is led by the Open University in the United Kingdom and supported by the University of Leicester. - Rosetta, for which Astrium is the lead contractor, is ESA's scientific mission to the Comet Wirtanen. Scheduled for launch in 2003, the probe will reach the small icy comet after a flight of nine years and drop a lander onto its surface. - Envisat: Astrium is prime contractor to the European Space Agency for the Platform and the environmental mission. - InfoTerra/TerraSAR: Astrium will present the next generation of satellite-based geo information services. - "Snapdragon", the Company's compact and agile Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite concept will also be presented. - METOP, Eumetsat's three new meteorology and climatology satellites, for which Astrium is the prime contractor, are scheduled for launch from 2003. In Space Infrastructure, Astrium is a major partner in the well-proven Ariane 4 and 5 launch vehicle programmes. Alongside these activities, Astrium is focusing on the operation and utilisation of the International Space Station (ISS). The launch of the Service Module on 12th July 2000 is a long awaited milestone in the International Space Station programme. Astrium is prime contractor for the core European contribution to the ISS, the COLUMBUS laboratory, and is responsible for a number of microgravity facilities and robotic systems. Also on display is a 1:20 mock-up of the Automated Transport vehicle (ATV), a supply vehicle for the ISS. Astrium is responsible for major parts of this unmanned transporter. For commercial use of the station, Astrium presents a range of products and services for the utilisation phase. ASTRIUM, Europe's leading space company, is a joint venture owned 75% by EADS and 25% by BAE SYSTEMS. In 1999 Astrium's merger partners had a combined turnover of 2 billion Euros, covering science and Earth observation, military observation and communications, telecommunications and ground systems, launchers and orbital infrastructure. In 1999 they employed a total of 7,500 people.
For further information, please contact:
Astrium SAS - F
Rémi ROLAND +33 (0)1 34 88 35 78
Astrium Ltd - UK
Alistair SCOTT +44 (0)1 438 77 36 98
Astrium GmbH - D
Mathias PIKELJ +49 (0) 75 458 91 23
Kirsten LEUNG +49 (0) 421539-53 26
www.astrium-space.com
