Mashfrog for the Thales Alenia Space Smart Factory

Telling the story through images of a place that connects sky and earth, innovation and passion. This is the task Thales Alenia Space entrusted to Mashfrog Group’s creative soul to showcase and narrate the Space Smart Factory—one of the largest intelligent, digital, and reconfigurable satellite production facilities in Europe.

Inaugurated on October 7 in the presence of the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, the factory located just outside Rome is a state-of-the-art facility designed to be among the most advanced in the world for space systems manufacturing. It represents the tangible result of an investment of over €100 million by Thales Alenia Space, co-funded by the Italian Space Agency through PNRR funds.

A video where the earth meets the sky

he video, created to celebrate the inauguration of Thales Alenia Space’s Space Smart Factory, adopts an architectural–emotional approach to highlight the monumentality of the spaces while showcasing their strongly futuristic and technological character. The style follows the direction Mashfrog has already taken in its productions dedicated to major infrastructure projects—strategic, innovative, and forward-looking.

Among the most significant technical aspects of the production was the use of generative Artificial Intelligence to animate photographs of some interior areas and of the site surrounding the Smart Factory. This choice was driven by the need to minimize the intrusiveness of on-site filming and to comply with access restrictions in sensitive areas. The shooting phase also involved the use of drones for aerial footage, while targeted and structured Gen AI applications were used for camera movements, lighting design, and color correction, resulting in a final video with a cohesive and uniform visual impact.
 

Classical music accompanies the footage on a journey between earth and sky, offering close-up details and wide shots of the factory alternating with aerial views of the area surrounding the building. On-screen graphics highlight key words that reflect the purpose of the entire project, in which innovation, technology, and people came together to create a place of excellence that looks to the future.

The video dedicated to the Space Smart Factory in Rome by Thales Alenia Space is the fourth in a series that has documented the entire construction process through its various phases. But it is not the end of the production: now that the factory has entered its operational phase, it will be followed by additional, more science-focused videos showcasing the technologies and operational innovations inside the Space Smart Factory, as well as the Thales Alenia Space facility in L’Aquila, the main site in Italy for space electronics manufacturing.

The future of the space industry

Inside Thales Alenia Space’s Space Smart Factory, a new generation of manufacturing processes for the space industry is coming to life, built on the integration of human expertise and digital technologies.

Throughout all phases of design, assembly, integration, and testing, numerical modeling and Digital Twin systems are employed, along with virtual and augmented reality tools, integrated simulators, and robotic and cobotic automation solutions. This digital infrastructure makes it possible to optimize time, cost, and quality by connecting the supply chain and the entire production cycle in real time.

In the laboratories and clean rooms of the Factory, cutting-edge satellites are tested and integrated, including those of the second-generation Galileo constellation, the new Copernicus ROSE-L and CIMR satellites, Sicral 3, and the PLATiNO and Nimbus families—symbols of an industrial approach driven by innovation and flexibility.

The synergy between digital infrastructure, advanced automation, and multidisciplinary collaboration makes Thales Alenia Space’s Space Smart Factory an advanced model of space manufacturing—one that combines engineering excellence, innovation, and sustainability.

Innovation, collaboration, and sustainability

Thales Alenia Space’s Space Smart Factory is an advanced technological ecosystem designed to revolutionize space manufacturing through flexible automation and process digitalization.

The entire complex is designed as a reconfigurable platform capable of rapidly adapting to different production needs: from micro and small satellites to next-generation satellite constellations, and to the full portfolio of Thales Alenia Space’s modular platforms for commercial and institutional programs.

At the heart of the facility is the Reconfigurable Clean Room, an ISO 8 environment with Low and High Bay areas, built with specialized materials to ensure maximum efficiency during satellite assembly, integration, and testing. Alongside it is the Space Joint Lab, a collaborative, multidisciplinary space that brings together research, training, and innovation: a laboratory of about 500 m² dedicated to developing solutions in areas such as augmented and virtual reality, artificial intelligence, robotics, and advanced materials, all connected through a digital backbone composed of HPC and a Datalake.

The entire facility is designed with sustainability in mind: recyclable materials, high-efficiency systems, the use of renewable energy, and strong environmental integration make Thales Alenia Space’s Space Smart Factory a 4.0 manufacturing site with minimal environmental impact.