Communications

19.3 - 21.03.2009
 
Rome
 
The 2009 edition of Sat Expo Europe is being held at Rome's new trade fair centre (Fiera di Roma) from 19-21 March. This is a key event in the aerospace and satellite sectors for the Mediterranean area - its natural focus - and it also demonstrates the important role played by Italy which is highly competitive in the aerospace sector and one of the main interlocutors for the European Space Agency.
 
In terms of numbers, Sat Expo 2008 was attended by 120 exhibitors, 7,000 trade visitors, 25 countries represented, 310 conference speakers and more than 100 accredited journalists. These figures show how the event plays a leading role in the European setting, while relating closely to other countries such as India, China, United States, Russia and United Arab Emirates.
 
The exhibition consists of four display sectors: space transport and exploration, navigation (mobility and positioning), Earth observation and territorial protection, integrated telecommunications (video, data, bidirectional, multimedia). Finmeccanica is the main sponsor for Sat Expo Europe, and is deeply involved in all of the display sectors.
 
So the event is of particular interest to the Group which has a stand of 150 square metres hosting Alenia Aeronautica, Elsag Datamat, SELEX Communications, SELEX Galileo, Telespazio, Thales Alenia Space. These companies display a large number of products and solutions ranging from terrestrial and maritime surveillance to satellite communication systems, and from on-board software to orbiting infrastructures, for example. One of the main features of Finmeccanica's high-tech products is their reliability.
 
The related conference programme is enhanced by the three-day Mediterranean Space Conference, devoted to space applications and services for land areas.
 
The opening ceremony for the event, which takes place under the patronage of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, was attended by the European transport commissioner, Antonio Tajani, as well as other leading figures in the sector. The presence of Finmeccanica and the Group companies is no surprise since their stated aim is to "bring space activities into everyday life".