[Satellite Today 07-30-08] Thales has seen strong growth in its space business with various new orders fuelling strong revenue growth, the company said July 29.
    Revenues from its aerospace and space division increased 12 percent in the first half of 2008 to 1.8 billion euros ($2.8 billion), with the space business accounting for 25 percent of the revenue growth. Thales credited the gains to performance in various market segments such as telecoms satellites, observation satellites and navigation systems.
    Order intake by the space business increased 31 percent during the first six months of 2008, as the company received orders for satellites from Eutelsat and Nilesat, two payloads for Koreasat and Amos 4 and several orders for the Galileo program.