Magali Vaissiere, ESA's Director of TIA, talks with an Info Days attendee.

Close to 140 participants took part in the 2009 Telecommunications and Integrated Applications (TIA) Info Days on 3 and 4 June. The successful event brought representatives of the European satellite telecommunications industry, ESA Delegations to the Joint Communication Board and ESA Telecom experts together for an informative two days of presentations and face-to-face sessions.

TIA Info Days are designed to inform industry and ESA Delegations of the Joint Communication Board about ESA's telecommunication activities. The face-to-face sessions gave industry leaders a unique opportunity to discuss and share ideas directly with ESA experts. A total of 135 meetings took place on day two of the conference.
 
Presentations regarding all of the Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES) elements that comprise the telecommunications programme were given. TIA Info Days attendees were informed of the various ways ESA cooperates with industry through the ARTES programme to ensure that European industry remains at the centre stage of telecommunications technology developments. The presentations also included information on the S Band Initiative as well as the CX2 programme.

Participants at ESA's TIA Info Days 2009

“I believe the ARTES TIA information days are very interesting and helpful. They are also a good opportunity for coordination and an interesting exchange of ideas,” said Jean Francois Charrier, Vice President of Marketing and Institutional Relations, Telecom Satellites, at EADS Astrium. “ESA's ARTES programme is really key to us and for the competitiveness of the European satellite telecommunications industry, in a very challenging world-wide market.”
 
In her presentation to TIA Info Days attendees, Magali Vaissiere, ESA Director of TIA stated: “We believe that the ARTES Programme is relevant and it contributes to the development of a healthy Space Industry. Do not forget that satellite telecommunications is the most mature of space applications and represents 60% of all space activities in Europe. The ARTES programme is, to a large extent, industry driven: we develop what industry proposes to us... as a result there is no European satellite that does not carry technology originally developed under ESA programmes, either platform, payload or both.”
 
Folke Brundin, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Sales, at RUAG Aerospace Sweden, speaks highly of the ARTES programme. RUAG Aerospace Sweden is a world-class supplier of highly-qualified space equipment: computer systems, antennas and microwave electronics for satellites and payload adapter systems for launchers. “Thanks to ARTES we have become a global supplier to a number of European and US primes;” said Mr Brundin. “We are happy to be on board ARTES 8 Small GEO for the spacecraft computer.”