Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), is a key European player in space Telecommunications, Navigation, Earth Observation, Science & Exploration, Orbital Infrastructures & Space Transport. The company also teams up with Telespazio to form the “Space Alliance”, which offers a complete range of services and solutions. Thales Alenia Space posted consolidated revenues of about 2.15 billion euros in 2019 and has around 7,700 employees in nine countries. Thales Alenia Space is the pioneer in European satellite navigation, as prime contractor for the EGNOS augmentation system, the precursor to Galileo. The space manufacturer plays a major role in its development, with system support for Galileo and a lead role in the in-orbit validation phase, not only through the first four satellites in orbit, but above all by building the Mission Ground Segment for the complete constellation.