ESA Awards Contract for LISA Mission Dedicated to Gravitational Waves to Thales Alenia Space

In recent weeks, the name of Thales Alenia Space has been linked to the situation involving production problems for the modules of the Lunar Gateway (project now canceled due to a change in the Artemis program's strategy). However, the company, which arises from a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), remains active on several fronts in the space sector, and one of the latest developments concerns the awarding of a contract by the ESA for the LISA mission (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna).

The European mission LISA aims to create three twin spacecraft that will be used as interferometers for the detection of gravitational waves and was approved in early 2024, thus allowing for the continuation of development. These spacecraft will join the terrestrial detectors Virgo, LIGO, and KAGRA to reveal a lesser-known aspect of the cosmos.

According to reports, Thales Alenia Space has secured a phase 1 contract worth €26.1 million for the development of the six telescopes for this mission. The company will be heavily involved in the realization of LISA, considering that by mid-2025, it signed a contract with OHB System to provide avionics and control software for the spacecraft, the telecommunications system, and the drag-free and attitude control system (DFACS). More recently, in January 2026, the partnership between Thales Alenia Space and OHB System was further solidified as the latter chose the former to supply the propulsion subsystem.

For the construction of the optical part, material called Zerodur will be used, which is also employed for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) of the ESO. This lithium-aluminosilicate glass-ceramic has a very low thermal sensitivity, allowing for stability on the picometric scales necessary for the European LISA mission and is widely used by Thales SESO. The latter division will provide the material, perform the main machining, and polish the optics and structure. Thales Alenia Space and Thales SESO will also assemble the hardware and conduct tests.

As with other interferometers, ESA LISA will allow for the detection of imperceptible deformations of spacetime caused by gravitational waves due to extremely energetic events, achieving sensitivity and working within a very low frequency range (between 0.1 mHz and 100 mHz) that is currently unattainable by terrestrial instruments.

According to plans, ESA LISA will be launched in 2035 with an Ariane 6 rocket from the French Guiana spaceport. To understand the complexity of the mission, the three spacecraft will position themselves in space forming a triangle, with each side measuring 2.5 million kilometers. Inside each spacecraft, there will be two small cubes made of gold-platinum that will float freely. When the distance between these two units varies due to gravitational waves, it will be detected and compared with those present in the other spacecraft.