Via its agreements with the French company, Alcatel, Finmeccanica has created Europe's leading operator in the space sector in the form of two joint ventures operating in satellite construction and satellite services management. In April 2007, the European Commission approved the transfer to the French company Thales of Alcatel-Lucent's interests in the joint ventures Alcatel Alenia Space and Telespazio.

The new space alliance with Thales marked the achievement of a milestone in the European space sector. Finmeccanica has a long tradition of excellence in the space arena and has achieved a world-leading position in the design, development and manufacture of positioning, telecommunications, Earth observation and remote sensing satellites for civil and military use.

One of its most prestigious activities is the production of components for space transport systems and orbiting structures, as well as the supply of high value-added satellite services.