The Spanish engineering and technology group SENER and Thales Alenia Space have launched their pioneering agreement to execute a joint business plan that will lead the Spanish industry in the development of optical payloads for space missions. The announcement follows a preliminary agreement signed by the two companies in March.

The strategic agreement – signed by the CEO of Thales Alenia Space Spain, Eduardo Bellido, the Space and Defence Director of SENER, Diego Rodríguez, and the Vice President for Science and Earth Observation of Thales Alenia Space France, Hervé Hamy – focuses on the development of the necessary capacities to lead the sector of “optical observation instruments” in Spain.

The alliance, which aims to develop a national leader in Spain and a European reference in optical observation instruments, is based on the technological complementarity of the two partners, which have collaborated on multiple scientific and Earth observation programmes, including the Spanish SeoSat/Ingenio satellite.

The joint strategic plan includes development of new business lines for both companies, with several commercial opportunities identified in the next years both in the domestic market (future Spanish optical observation satellite) and in the international market.

The agreement foresees a joint investment in the pre-development of critical technologies and the acquisition of key capabilities, which will allow both companies to position themselves as leading players in the Spanish space sector with state of the art products in optical observation.