Thales Alenia Space wins the Better Satellite World Awards 2017 

Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales 67 percent and Leonardo 33 percent, won the Better Satellite World Awards2017 for the Meolut Next solution. The award was awarded in the prestigious One Whitehall Place in London, by Space & Satellite Professionals International (SSPI), and is aimed at established companies and disruptive innovative companies that make our world more prosperous, healthy, sustainable, with better education. , a home that includes all mankind. According to Sspi, the recipients of the Better Satellite World Awards were assessed in three categories: regional or global impact; distribution of knowledge for the improvement of living standards, governance and trade. The selection of the recipients of the Better Satellite World Awards was made by an international jury made up of a large sample of industry thought leaders and distinguished professionals. Meolut Next is Thales Alenia Space's most recent contribution to satellite research and rescue efforts to save more lives. Commissioned in August 2016, Meolut Next became operational on 13 December of the same year, as the first space search and rescue (Search & Rescue) system of this type and is currently fully operational and integrated into the Cospas-Sarsat system. Conventional Meolu systems, each equipped with six long-range satellite dishes in an area nearly the size of a football field, are capable of receiving signals from six satellites (one per antenna). The Meolut Next solution by Thales Alenia Space, with its small antennas, positioned in less than 6 square meters, locates up to 30 satellites, thus optimizing the detection capacity of the emergency signal, while also extending its coverage area. Since these antennas do not have mechanical components, the maintenance costs of the hardware are also among the most competitive on the market. These compact 2 meter 64 patch phased array antennas are equipped with a high performance RF (radio frequency) unit, can be deployed on a roof and do not require heavy additional infrastructure. The Meolut Next is stationary and does not require electric motors to operate, this allows it to operate with minimal maintenance. It is capable of detecting signals from all Meo satellites in its field of view, allowing it to detect emergency signals up to 5 kilometers away. “For Thales Alenia Space, space is the new horizon of humanity that will allow us to build a better world and a more sustainable life on Earth. Saving lives is absolutely part of our company's aspirations and our participation in the search and rescue services offered by Cospas-Sarsat demonstrates this, ”said Philippe Larhantec, head of the Meolut Next production line.