[Satellite News 09-30-11] In the second part of our two-part interview, Thales Alenia Space CEO Reynald Seznec tackles a major topic of conversation among satellite manufacturers — the possible realization of International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR)-free satellites.

   ITAR laws are a set of United States government regulations that control the export and import of defense-related articles and services on the U.S. Munitions List. Seznec stressed that ITAR reform would make life easier for almost everyone in the satellite industry.

   Seznec also outlined technology challenges facing Thales Alenia Space, and how he aims to position the business to gain more customer orders in the coming months.

 

Seznec: This has been a long-term issue, to say the least, as the debate has been going on for the last 10 years. However, ITAR discussions have become more active these days. We are following the U.S. reform initiatives launched by the current administration with great attention. I assume that these reforms are designed to facilitate daily business for U.S. exporters by adjusting the current national export control policy. While this makes sense to me, other efforts are needed to provide guarantees in areas such as national security, which is a major concern for the United States.

 

 

Seznec: Not only will ITAR reform facilitate the daily business of U.S. exporters, it will make things easier for everybody. Even as a European company, we have to comply with ITAR rules, as well as our European export control systems. In consequence, any reform that would free certain components from ITAR rules would make our work easier as well.

   Don’t forget that the unrestricted commercial satellite market represents, on average, one satellite and one payload per year. That is not a significant part of the global commercial satellite market. Due to the type of products involved, it would be complicated for the U.S. government to remove this sector from the U.S. Department of State’s jurisdiction. I can’t imagine that if some flexibility is introduced to classify some technologies and put them on a commerce control list, it will not concern the totality of the portfolio. Therefore, the full list of components might not be removed from ITAR control. At the end of the day, I still think the process will be a long one. It still needs to receive approval from Congress, so I don’t think we are very close to a decision. But I could be wrong and we might see the process accelerated.  

 

Seznec: There are a number of things. We cannot dissociate the technology push from price pressure. Innovation often involves two facets. First, you have innovation to improve performance and develop new services and innovative solutions to reduce costs. There are quite a few programs that are spurring innovation to meet emerging needs. For example, a program like Iridium has already given us the most efficient and cost-effective low-orbit platform. In the future, this platform could be used for non-telecom applications, such as Earth observation.

   At the same time, we continue to improve antenna and onboard computer technologies. Ka-band multi-spot has been developed in the space telecom market, but we also have Ku-band multi-spot technology. These are just examples, and developments often take a lot of time. If we look at Ka-band in the next two to 15 years, and the transition from analog to digital, which can make the processing transparent, it takes a lot of time. This is another area where we are looking to increase payload flexibility and use digital payloads.

   Other programs are expanding the frontiers of technology and innovation. One area that continues to evolve is high-resolution Earth observation. We are working on dual applications covering both defense and civil needs in this area. In Italy, we won an order for the second generation of Cosmo SkyMed. High-resolution Earth observation systems continue to enhance their performance, not only the resolution itself, but also other factors to increase the quality and use of these satellites.