GenCorp’s [GY] Aerojet division yesterday said it is entering the final stages of establishing a European subsidiary for it to develop and produce space thrusters, space propulsion and related products to customers in Europe’s growing space market.
Aerojet has signed a memorandum of understanding with Thales UK, which will be a major subcontractor to Aerojet, to help establish the manufacturing and assembly facilities and capabilities in Northern Ireland for the European Space Propulsion, Ltd., subsidiary. Thales UK is a division of France’s Thales.
The space market in Europe is growing at about 9 percent annually and Aerojet believes that having greater proximity to its customers will enable it to expand market share, Rick Yezzi, vice president of Business Development and Bill Smith, executive director of International Growth at Aerojet, told Defense Daily from the Farnborough Air Show in Britain.
Smith said that Europe’s space needs were “narrow” for some time but has been branching out into other capabilities such as earth resource satellites, satellite communications, radars and others, which has driven changes in their propulsion needs. While Aerojet has developed products for these needs in the United States to serve its U.S. customers, Smith said it is best to be based in Europe to serve European customers.
“There are a number of European programs that have a strong preference for European suppliers…and this new European operation will be a European company and will be eligible for bidding on those things,” Smith said. The company will be doing some technology transfer, including obtaining the necessary approvals with the U.S. government, to enable this, he said.
Construction on the new facility will begin early this fall with an initial operational capability by year-end, Aerojet said.
The types of products that Aerojet expects to build in the European subsidiary initially include relatively small propulsion systems, including the various components such as tanks and thrusters to mount into small and medium satellites. The subsidiary will also build individual thrusters under license from Aerojet, provide fuel services for fueling satellites at launch facilities, and potentially provide other integration services. Aerojet also believes it has customer support for research projects with Queens Univ. in Belfast to potentially develop environmentally friendly propellant and perform other research and development.