Herakles Multi-Function Radar and Space Surveillance Sensors
Description
Thales Group is a French multinational defense, aerospace, and digital security company headquartered in La Défense, Paris. In the space sector, Thales provides ground-based space surveillance radars, satellite onboard electronics, and air/space traffic management systems. The Herakles is a multi-function active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar deployed on FREMM frigates and shore-based systems, also used in space surveillance applications for tracking objects in LEO and GEO orbits. Thales is a major supplier to ESA's Space Weather Service Network and the EU Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) system, providing radar sensors and data processing for cataloguing space debris. In satellite communications, Thales designs the onboard electronics, transponder units, and ground terminals for GEO communications satellites (Spacebus series through its Thales Alenia Space subsidiary). Thales Alenia Space (67% Thales, 33% Leonardo) builds the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, Copernicus Sentinel-1 SAR satellite, and the Ceres military SIGINT constellation for the French DGA. Thales also manufactures the navigation avionics for the Vega-C launch vehicle and the ALTAIR air-ground data link for Ariane 6.
