Thales Alenia Space and SWRI sign mou to cooperate on stratobus development
Cannes, July 9th, 2018 - Thales Alenia Space, the joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), a major player in the market for satellites, scientific spacecraft and orbital infrastructures as well as the developer of the StratobusTM airship, and Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), an internationally recognized research and development provider, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to cooperate in the development of StratobusTM.
As Thales Alenia Space continues to move forward with the design and development of its high-altitude platform station (HAPS) StratobusTM, SwRI will support Thales Alenia Space with technical advice and assistance based on SwRI’s considerable experience with lighter-than-air technologies.
Guy Boullenger, VP StratobusTM development at Thales Alenia Space said, “I am delighted that SwRI will be cooperating with the StratobusTM team. Their expertise, gained during their long history of building and operating balloons and airships, will be of significant value to our efforts in reaching our goals for StratobusTM”.
Thales Alenia Space and SwRI have established a Joint Working Committee (JWC) to manage their cooperative activities as the StratobusTM project moves forward.
About Stratobus
Thales Alenia Space’s famous StratobusTM program is a perfect complement to satellite systems. StratobusTM offers the advantage of carrying out its missions without needing an expensive launch vehicle. For instance, it could provide a permanent surveillance solution over a predefined regional coverage zone, to meet the needs of security and defense organizations.
