Thales : Togo acquires Thales Alenia Space’s advanced MEOLUT Next ground station to locate distress signals
June 18, 2018 at 09:33 am EDT
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Lomé, June 18, 2018
- Togo and Thales Alenia Space announced today that they have signed a contract for a ground station to be installed in Lomé, Togo, to be used for the search and rescue (SAR) of persons in distress, mainly using the Galileo satellite positioning system. Based on Thales Alenia Space's MEOLUT Next* (Medium Orbit Local User Terminal), the latest-generation MEOSAR (Medium Orbit Search and Rescue) technology, this system will enable the instantaneous location, with unprecedented accuracy, of a distress call issued by a beacon operating through the COSPAS-SARSAT ** system.
The fully integrated ground station comprises a compact, high-tech beam-shaping antenna (capable of taking maximum advantage of Galileo's SAR service), a Mission Control Center (MCC) dedicated to managing and distributing alerts, and a Rescue Coordination Center (RCC), which interfaces with systems already in place locally or in neighboring countries (for fire-fighters, armed forces, coast guards, etc.).
The ground station will detect and locate any distress signal triggered by a ship, plane or land vehicle, thus enhancing the safety of people and goods. The unexcelled coverage provided by the beam-shaping antenna will allow Togo to receive distress signals over a radius of more than 3,000 kilometers, which means it will cover the entire Gulf of Guinea and a large part of the African continent.
Mr.Toba Tanama
Directeur de la communication
Présidence de la République
République togolaise
communication@presidence.gouv.tg
About Thales Alenia Space
Combining 40 years of experience and a unique diversity of expertise, talents and cultures, Thales Alenia Space architects design and deliver high technology solutions for telecommunications, navigation, Earth observation, environmental management, exploration, science and orbital infrastructures. Governments, institutions and companies rely on Thales Alenia Space to design, operate and deliver satellite-based systems that help them position and connect anyone or anything, everywhere, help observe our planet, help optimize the use of our planet's - and our solar system's - resources. Thales Alenia Space believes in space as humankind's new horizon, which will enable to build a better, more sustainable life on Earth. A joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), Thales Alenia Space also teams up with Telespazio to form the parent companies' Space Alliance, which offers a complete range of services and solutions. Thales Alenia Space posted consolidated revenues of about 2.6 billion euros in 2017 and has 7,980 employees in nine countries. www.thalesaleniaspace.com
THALES SA published this content on 18 June 2018 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 18 June 2018 13:32:03 UTC
Thales is one of the European leaders in manufacturing and marketing of electronic equipment and systems for the defense and security, aerospace, and transportation sectors. Net sales break down by product group as follows:
- defense and security systems (53.4%): C4I defense and security systems (control and monitoring systems, communication, protection, cyber-security, and other systems), defense mission systems, naval systems, electronic war systems, drones, air operation systems (air defense, air surveillance), ground defense systems and missiles;
- aerospace systems (28.4%): avionics equipment (cockpit, cabin multimedia, and simulation equipment), space systems (satellites, payloads, etc.);
- digital identification and security solutions (18.2%).
Besides, the group owns a 35% stake in Naval Group (manufacture of naval equipment for defense and nuclear energy sectors).
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: France (29.5%), the United Kingdom (6.6%), Europe (24.8%), the United States and Canada (14%), Asia (9.4%), Near and Middle East (6%), Australia and New Zealand (4.4%) and other (5.3%).