Technical visits

Two technical tours on Thursday 30 June 2011

Departure from Paris: 08:00
Arrival to Paris: 15:00 (Tour 1), 16:00 (Tour 2)

Technical tours are available to Forum Delegates and are included in the registration fees – number of participants is limited.
The following technical tours have been arranged by the Organizing Committee. The tours include coach transfers and lunch.

 

Tour 1: EADS Astrium - Les Mureaux

40 km west of Paris, Les Mureaux centre houses most of the company's central services, and specialises in the management of major space and strategic missile programs. In addition to the integration of Ariane's liquid propellant stages, it also produces metal structures, pyrotechnics and lightweight composite structures. The Les Mureaux centre also has remarkable facilities for data processing, simulation, testing and checkout.
Les Mureaux has the advantage of easy access to the Roissy Charles de Gaulle international airport, and the riverside site is also essential – the Ariane 5 EPC stages are taken downriver to the port of Le Havre by barge, where they are then shipped out to Kourou by sea.
After a presentation of Astrium company, visitors will have a look at three areas of the site :
- the integration hall for the EPC cryogenic main stage of Ariane 5, the site ’s flagship activity, where four sub-assemblies – the forward skirt, fuel tank, thrust frame and Vulcain engine – are put together before being sent to Kourou
- ISF qualification platforms where electrical and functional qualification tests are conducted
- the composite materials Centre of Competence (CoC), where a wide range of high-tech products are manufactured, such as satellite antenna reflectors or SYLDA, the Ariane dual-launch system comprising a set of cylindrical and conical composite panels, which is one of the largest carbon structures of this type manufactured in Europe.

 

Tour 2: SAFRAN Messier-Bugatti-Dowty – Vélizy & SOPEMEA – Vélizy

Messier-Bugatti-Dowty (Safran group)

MESSIER-BUGATTI-DOWTY is the world leader in aircraft landing and braking systems. Company capabilities encompass the full life cycle of it’s products, ranging from design and manufacture to in-service support, repair and overhaul. Messier-Bugatti-Dowty is a partner to 33 leading commercial, military, business and regional airframers, and supports more than 22,000 aircraft making over 35,000 landings every day. The company employs 6,250 staff working in locations across Europe, North America and Asia.
On May 1st, 2011, the three Safran subsidiaries Messier-Dowty, Messier-Bugatti and Messier Services merged to form Messier-Bugatti-Dowty, creating a world leader in aircraft landing systems and on-ground movement.

In combining three highly complementary organizations, Messier-Bugatti-Dowty will be able provide customers with an expanded portfolio of integrated landing systems and associated equipment and services required for the aircraft industry of tomorrow.

Headquarters

Built in 1991, the 20-year (in January 2011) Vélizy facility employs 1,000 people. The site hosts various functions such as design, development, sales, marketing, as well as product and customer support, whose activities are focused on a wide range of programs in close partnership with company fellow facilities. The Vélizy facility also includes an extensive capability from brake, wheel and systems testing laboratories to equipment complete integration benches.

      

 

Sopemea

SOPEMEA is a private company  for the Improvement of Aerospace Materials and Equipment, acting as a test laboratory accredited by COFRAC in accordance with the international ISO 17025 standard, and approved by the largest companies (AIRBUS,  Boeing, …).

On the Velizy site, SOPEMEA carries out the different test for related to :

• vibration (from few Hertz up to 2,000 Hz), shocks, wind milling,
• constant acceleration (centrifuge facility up to 5,000g.kg),
•  structural tests,
• Hydraulic tests,
• Electrical tests,
• A large range of climatic test means (dry and wet heat, humidy, salt spray, solar radiation, sand and dust, high altitude pressure, …) in the different ranges (-100°C up to 400°C and from 10¯⁶ mbar up to 25 bars),
• Combined tests,
• EMC (immunity, succeptibility, ….),
• And mobile measurements :
• Vibration measurement,
• Acoustic measurement,
• On-site modal analysis on complete aircraft or on subsystem with the associated methods (appropriated method, global method or mixed method) thanks to its own measurement means.

Detailed information and visits registration form to be sent to registered delegates