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Redu Space Services to Build EDRS Mission Operation Centre

Dépèche transmise le 3 février 2012 par Business Wire

Redu Space Services to Build EDRS Mission Operation Centre

REDU, Belgium & LUXEMBOURG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Redu Space Services (RSS), a joint venture of SES and QinetiQ Space nv, announced today that Astrium has awarded it a contract for the design, development, testing and delivery of the Mission Operation Centre (MOC) in the framework of the European Data Relay System (EDRS) programme .

The EDRS will provide bi-directional data transmission between Low-Earth-Orbit (LEO) satellites and the ground almost in real-time and with broadband quality. EDRS is developed and implemented within a Public Private Partnership (PPP) between the European Space Agency (ESA) and Astrium Services. As prime contractor, Astrium will build and operate the system infrastructure and provide the data transmission services. The company holds the exclusive rights to sell EDRS services to customers worldwide.

The European Union (EU), with its Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) programme and its Sentinel satellites, is intended to be the anchor tenant for the service, with additional capacity on the system marketed by Astrium Services to third-party users.

Leading a consortium consisting of Spacebel (Belgium), Edisoft (Portugal), Deimos (Portugal) and SES TechCom (Luxembourg), RSS will install the prime MOC system at Astrium’s facilities in Ottobrunn, Germany. This will be operated by Astrium Services, whereas a backup system at the ESA station in Redu, Belgium will be installed and operated by RSS. RSS will also be in charge of the lifetime maintenance and backup operations of the MOC system.

The contractual agreement also includes the hosting and maintenance of a backup TT&C (telemetry, tracking and command) and EDRS data reception antenna system in Redu, as well as the upgrading and expansion of the capabilities of this antenna system to facilitate the In-Orbit Testing of the EDRS payloads.

The commitment of Belgium to the EDRS programme offers attractive opportunities to Belgium-based companies working in the space sector. “The heritage of RSS at the ESA station in Redu, the support of the shareholders QinetiQ Space and SES, and our intense cooperation in the proposal and negotiation phase are certainly some of the reasons why Astrium is putting its trust in us and awarded us this contract. We are delighted to start this cooperation, which will be a key milestone for RSS,” said Jos Giannandrea, General Manager of RSS.

“Astrium Services is in a unique position to implement and operate the innovative EDRS service, as the company can capitalise on its extensive expertise as operator of Earth observation and telecom satellites as well as provider of Geo-information and Telecom satellite services. We are happy that we can count on RSS’, QinetiQ’s and SES’ support to make EDRS a success for our service customers in Europe and world-wide,” said Eric Béranger, CEO of Astrium Services.

About Redu Space Services (RSS) www.reduspaceservices.com

Redu Space Services (RSS) is a specialised technical services company majority-owned by SES in joint venture with QinetiQ Space nv. RSS is operating from the ESA station in Redu/Belgium for which it has been contracted the Maintenance and Operations services. Beside the delivery of turn-key systems, RSS is also providing services like hosting, in orbit testing and satellite operations.

About SES www.ses.com

SES is a world-leading satellite operator with a fleet of 49 geostationary satellites. The company provides satellite communications services to broadcasters, content and internet service providers, mobile and fixed network operators and business and governmental organisations worldwide.

SES stands for long-lasting business relationships, high-quality service and excellence in the broadcasting industry. The culturally diverse regional teams of SES are located around the globe and work closely with customers to meet their specific satellite bandwidth and service requirements.

SES (Paris:SESG)(LuxX:SESG) holds participations in Ciel in Canada and QuetzSat in Mexico, as well as a strategic participation in satellite infrastructure start-up O3b Networks. Further information under: www.ses.com.

About QinetiQ Space nv: www.qinetiq.be

QINETIQ SPACE is a Belgian Space System Integrator, based in Kruibeke, designing and building Small Satellites, Cornerstone subsystems like the International Berthing and Docking Mechanism to interconnect large spacecraft, and scientific instruments for research in Space. It currently employs 70 people in Kruibeke and 37 people in Redu, mostly highly skilled and many with postgraduate qualifications. QINETIQ SPACE is currently recruiting new engineers to complete the new satellite projects.

About Astrium www.astrium.eads.net

Astrium is the number one company in Europe for space technologies and a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS, dedicated to providing civil and defence space systems and services.

In 2010, Astrium had a turnover of €5 billion and more than 15,000 employees, mainly in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands. Its three main areas of activity are Astrium Space Transportation for launchers and orbital infrastructure, Astrium Satellites for spacecraft and ground segment, and Astrium Services for comprehensive end-to-end solutions covering secure and commercial satcoms and networks, high security satellite communications equipment, bespoke geo-information and navigation services worldwide.

EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2010, the Group - comprising Airbus, Astrium, Cassidian and Eurocopter - generated revenues of € 45.8 billion and employed a workforce of nearly 122,000.