In partnership with Airbus, Satys opens a new facility dedicated to satellite painting

A world leader in aircraft painting, Toulouse-based Satys Aerospace is now extending  its activities into the space sector. At its Blagnac site, the group has just  commissioned a facility dedicated to the painting of satellite parts. It was recently  inaugurated in the presence of Airbus and CNES executives. As part of a partnership  with Airbus, this site will be responsible for painting the deployable radiators for the  OneSat program, whose communications satellites will be commissioned from  geostationary orbit.

“The painting of deployable satellite radiators is subject to particularly demanding  specifications,” explains Philippe Didier, program manager for this new activity. The  coatings used have thermo-optical properties linked to infrared emissivity. They  must facilitate the absorption of sunlight and the dispersion of heat”. Due to the  specific paint requirements for space applications, Satys Aerospace had to qualify  the personnel – painters, logisticians, and inspectors – assigned to this unit. The room  is now equipped with an airlock system to prevent any risk of contamination during  unpacking and packing of components for painting. Satys invested one million euros

in new equipment and worked closely with Airbus for two years to design and build  this new production tool.

At the inauguration, Gregory Mayeur, Managing Director of Satys Aerospace,  welcomed the new partnership with Airbus: “We are very proud of the successful  cooperation between our two teams. Technically, the painting business is very  specific, and despite our extensive experience in aeronautics, we have learned a lot  from this new space applications market, through the high-quality standards it demands. Constantly improving and expanding our technical expertise is in Satys’  DNA”.

On the strength of this new industrial tool adapted to space applications, Satys  Aerospace hopes to be able to enter future partnerships with other manufacturers  to meet their space equipment painting needs.