Aérospatiale
Encyclopedia
Aérospatiale was a French aerospace manufacturer
that built both civilian and military aircraft
, rocket
s and satellite
s. It was originally known as Société Nationale Industrielle Aérospatiale (SNIAS). Its head office was in the 16th arrondissement of Paris
.
The former assets of Aérospatiale are now part of EADS
, except the Satellites activities which merged with Alcatel
and became Alcatel Space, in 1999, now Thales Alenia Space
.
, Nord Aviation
and Société d'études et de réalisation d'engins balistiques (SÉREB). Starting in 1971 it was directed by Émile Dewoitine
and Bernard Dufour.
In 1991 the company helped construct the revolutionary chassis of the Bugatti EB110
Supercar. The chassis was built completely of carbon fibre, and was very lightweight.
In 1992, DaimlerBenz Aerospace AG (DASA) and Aérospatiale combined their helicopter divisions to form the Eurocopter Group
.
In 1999, Aérospatiale, except for the satellites activities, merged with Matra Haute Technologie
to form Aérospatiale-Matra
. In 2001, Aérospatiale-Matra's missile group was merged with Matra BAe Dynamics
and the missile division of Alenia Marconi Systems
to form MBDA
. Lionel Jospin
's Plural Left government initiated the privatization
of Aérospatiale.
On July 10, 2000, Aérospatiale-Matra merged with Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA)
of Spain and DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG (DASA)
of Germany to form the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS).
Aerospace manufacturer
An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, and/or spacecraft....
that built both civilian and military aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
, rocket
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
s and satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
s. It was originally known as Société Nationale Industrielle Aérospatiale (SNIAS). Its head office was in the 16th arrondissement of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
The former assets of Aérospatiale are now part of EADS
EADS
The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company N.V. is a global pan-European aerospace and defence corporation and a leading defence and military contractor worldwide...
, except the Satellites activities which merged with Alcatel
Alcatel
Alcatel Mobile Phones is a brand of mobile handsets. It was established in 2004 as a joint venture between Alcatel-Lucent of France and TCL Communication of China....
and became Alcatel Space, in 1999, now Thales Alenia Space
Thales Alenia Space
Thales Alenia Space is an aerospace company born after the Thales Group bought the participation of Alcatel in the two joint-ventures between Alcatel and Finmeccanica, Alcatel Alenia Space and Telespazio.-History:...
.
History
The company (as SNIAS) was created in 1970 by the merger of the state-owned companies Sud AviationSud Aviation
Sud-Aviation was a French state-owned aircraft manufacturer, originating from the merger of Sud-Est and Sud-Ouest on March 1, 1957...
, Nord Aviation
Nord Aviation
Nord-Aviation was a state-owned French aircraft manufacturer. It was created on October 1, 1954 upon the acquisition of SFECMAS by SNCAN...
and Société d'études et de réalisation d'engins balistiques (SÉREB). Starting in 1971 it was directed by Émile Dewoitine
Émile Dewoitine
Émile Dewoitine was a French aviation industrialist.- Prewar industrial activities :Born in Crépy-en-Laonnois, Émile Dewoitine entered the aviation industry by working at Latécoère during Word War I...
and Bernard Dufour.
In 1991 the company helped construct the revolutionary chassis of the Bugatti EB110
Bugatti EB110
The Bugatti EB110 is a mid-engine sports car from Bugatti Automobili SpA. It was unveiled on September 15, 1991, in both Versailles and in front of the Grande Arche at La Défense in Paris, France, exactly 110 years after Ettore Bugatti's birth....
Supercar. The chassis was built completely of carbon fibre, and was very lightweight.
In 1992, DaimlerBenz Aerospace AG (DASA) and Aérospatiale combined their helicopter divisions to form the Eurocopter Group
Eurocopter Group
The Eurocopter Group is a global helicopter manufacturing and support company. It is the largest in the industry in terms of revenues and turbine helicopter deliveries. Its head office is located on the property of Marseille-Provence International Airport in Marignane, France, near Marseille...
.
In 1999, Aérospatiale, except for the satellites activities, merged with Matra Haute Technologie
Matra
Mécanique Aviation Traction or Matra was a French company covering a wide range of activities mainly related to automobile, bicycles, aeronautics and weaponry. In 1994, it became a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group and now operates under that name.Matra was owned by the Floirat family...
to form Aérospatiale-Matra
Aérospatiale-Matra
Aérospatiale-Matra was a French missile and aircraft manufacturer. It was formed in 1999 by the merger of French companies Aérospatiale and Matra Haute Technologie....
. In 2001, Aérospatiale-Matra's missile group was merged with Matra BAe Dynamics
Matra BAe Dynamics
Matra BAe Dynamics was formed in August 1996 by merger of half the missile business of Matra Defense of France and BAe Dynamics of the UK and was Europe's largest manufacturer of missiles and UAVs....
and the missile division of Alenia Marconi Systems
Alenia Marconi Systems
Alenia Marconi Systems was a major European integrated defence electronics company and an equal shares joint venture between BAE Systems and Finmeccanica until its dissolution on May 3, 2005....
to form MBDA
MBDA
MBDA is a missile developer and manufacturer with operations in France, Britain, Germany, Italy, and the United States. It was formed by a merger of Aérospatiale-Matra Missiles , Finmeccanica and Matra BAe Dynamics in December 2001. In 2003 the company had 10,000 employees...
. Lionel Jospin
Lionel Jospin
Lionel Jospin is a French politician, who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002.Jospin was the Socialist Party candidate for President of France in the elections of 1995 and 2002. He was narrowly defeated in the final runoff election by Jacques Chirac in 1995...
's Plural Left government initiated the privatization
Privatization
Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...
of Aérospatiale.
On July 10, 2000, Aérospatiale-Matra merged with Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA)
Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA
Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA , was a Spanish aircraft manufacturer. It became EADS CASA the Spanish branch of EADS in 1999, but was absorbed by Airbus Military in 2009...
of Spain and DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG (DASA)
DASA
DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG, or DASA, was the former aerospace subsidiary of Daimler-Benz AG from 1989...
of Germany to form the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS).
Products
Fixed-wing aircraft
- ATR 42ATR 42-Civil operators:The largest operators of the ATR-42 are FedEx Express, Airlinair, TRIP Linhas Aéreas,and Mexico City-based Aeromar respectively. Number of aircraft as of 2010:Some 70 other airlines operate smaller numbers of the type....
(as part of ATR) - ATR 72ATR 72The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop short-haul regional airliner built by the French-Italian aircraft manufacturer ATR. ATR and Airbus are both built in Toulouse, and share resources and technology...
(as part of ATR) - Avion de Transport Supersonique FuturAvion de Transport Supersonique FuturThe Avion de Transport Supersonique Futur also known as Alliance was a concept design for supersonic aircraft considered by British Aerospace and Aérospatiale. The plane was to be based on the experience learned from the supersonic Concorde, and was to fly at Mach 2 or higher...
(not built) - CM.170 MagisterFouga MagisterThe Fouga Magister is a 1950s French two-seat jet trainer. The related CM.175 Zéphyr was a carrier-capable version for the French Navy....
- CM.175 ZephyrFouga Zéphyr|-See also:-References:* Kopenhagen, W., ed. Das große Flugzeug-Typenbuch. Stuttgart, Germany: Transpress, 1987. ISBN 3-344-00162-0.* Jackson, Paul A, French Military Aviation Leicester, England: Midland Counties Publications, 1979. ISBN 0 904597 17 2....
- ConcordeConcordeAérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...
(with British Aircraft CorporationBritish Aircraft CorporationThe British Aircraft Corporation was a British aircraft manufacturer formed from the government-pressured merger of English Electric Aviation Ltd., Vickers-Armstrongs , the Bristol Aeroplane Company and Hunting Aircraft in 1960. Bristol, English Electric and Vickers became "parents" of BAC with...
) - SE 210 CaravelleSud Aviation CaravelleThe Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle was the first short/medium-range jet airliner produced by the French Sud Aviation firm starting in 1955 . The Caravelle was one of the more successful European first generation jetliners, selling throughout Europe and even penetrating the United States market, with...
- SN 601 CorvetteAérospatiale Corvette|-See also:-References:...
- TB 30 Epsilon
Helicopters
- AS350 Ecureuil/AStar
- AS355 Ecureuil 2/TwinStarEurocopter AS355The Eurocopter AS355 Ecureuil 2 is a twin-engine light helicopter originally manufactured by Aérospatiale...
- SA 313/SA 318 Alouette II
- SA 315B LamaAérospatiale Lama|-See also:-External links:...
- SA 316/SA 319 Alouette IIIAérospatiale Alouette IIIThe Aérospatiale Alouette III is a single-engine, light utility helicopter developed by Sud Aviation. It was manufactured by Aérospatiale of France, and under licence by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in India as Hal Chetak and Industria Aeronautică Română in Romania.The Alouette III is the...
- SA 321 Super FrelonAérospatiale Super FrelonThe Aérospatiale SA 321 Super Frelon is a three-engined heavy transport helicopter produced by Aérospatiale of France. The helicopter is still in use in China where the locally produced version is known as the Z-8. "Frelon" is French for hornet....
- SA 330 PumaAérospatiale PumaThe Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma is a four-bladed, twin-engined medium transport/utility helicopter. The Puma was originally manufactured by Sud Aviation of France.-Development:...
- SA 341/SA 342 GazelleAérospatiale GazelleThe Aérospatiale Gazelle is a five-seat light helicopter, powered by a single turbine engine. It was designed and manufactured in France by Sud Aviation . It was also manufactured under licence by Westland Aircraft in the United Kingdom , by SOKO in Yugoslavia and ABHCO in Egypt...
- SA 360 Dauphin
- SA 365/AS365 Dauphin 2Eurocopter DauphinThe Eurocopter SA 365/AS365 Dauphin 2 is a medium-weight multipurpose twin-engine helicopter manufactured by Eurocopter .-Design and development:...
Space-related products
- Arabsat (satellite)
- ArianeAriane (rocket)Ariane is a series of a European civilian expendable launch vehicles for space launch use. The name comes from the French spelling of the mythological character Ariadne....
rocketRocketA rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction... - Hermes spaceplaneSpaceplaneA spaceplane is a vehicle that operates as an aircraft in Earth's atmosphere, as well as a spacecraft when it is in space. It combines features of an aircraft and a spacecraft, which can be thought of as an aircraft that can endure and maneuver in the vacuum of space or likewise a spacecraft that...
(not built) - Huygens probeHuygens probeThe Huygens probe was an atmospheric entry probe carried to Saturn's moon Titan as part of the Cassini–Huygens mission. The probe was supplied by the European Space Agency and named after the Dutch 17th century astronomer Christiaan Huygens....
- MeteosatMeteosatThe Meteosat series of satellites are geostationary meteorological satellites operated by EUMETSAT under the Meteosat Transition Programme and the Meteosat Second Generation program....
(satellite) - SpacebusSpacebusSpacebus is a satellite bus produced at the Cannes Mandelieu Space Center in France by Thales Alenia Space. Spacebuses are typically used for geostationary communications satellites, and fifty-two have been launched since development started in the 1980s. Spacebus was originally produced by...
(satellite) - TurksatTurksatTurksat Satellite Communication and Cable TV Operation AS is the only satellite operator company in Turkey. It was founded as a government company...
(satellite)
External links
- Aerospatiale (Archive) /
- Helis.com