Thales Alenia Space and SWRI sign MOU for cooperation

Cannes. 9 July 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 Stratobus^TM 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 Stratobus^TM.

As Thales Alenia Space continues to move forward with the design and development of its high-altitude platform station (HAPS) Stratobus^TM, 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 Stratobus^TM development at Thales Alenia Space said, “I am delighted that SwRI will be cooperating with the Stratobus^TM 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 Stratobus”.

Thales Alenia Space and SwRI have established a Joint Working Committee (JWC) to manage their cooperative activities as the Stratobus project moves forward.