In a recent interview, the Technical Director of the Institute for Research in Astrophysics and Planetology (IRAP) reflected on a fifteen-year collaboration with ALTEN. From the PILOT stratospheric balloon experiment to the scientific instrument deployed on the lunar surface as part of China’s Chang’e-6 mission, ALTEN has consistently partnered with IRAP to transform ambitious scientific concepts into flight-proven space instrumentation.

Across multiple missions and extreme operating environments, ALTEN has provided responsive, high-precision engineering support—earning long-term trust through technical rigor, delivery reliability, and close collaboration with scientific teams.

Turning Scientific Ambition into Space-Ready Electronic Systems

During the development of the Alpha Spectrometer for the Chang’e-6 mission, ALTEN delivered end-to-end engineering support—from system architecture and electronic design through verification and final delivery—within a three-year development cycle. This accelerated timeline reflects more than execution speed. It demonstrates ALTEN’s comprehensive capabilities in space-grade electronic systems engineering, covering the full development lifecycle:

• Electronic Design 

Digital and analog circuit design, FPGA development and signal processing, RF and high-speed electronics, as well as power management and low-power optimization.

• Verification and Reliability Engineering 

EMC/EMI design, environmental and reliability verification, fault prediction, and health-management analysis.

• System Integration

Complete AIT (Assembly, Integration, and Testing) support, from component-level integration to full scientific instruments.

By integrating these capabilities into a single engineering framework, ALTEN enables clients to meet stringent performance, reliability, and schedule requirements—particularly in missions where margins for error are minimal.

A Proven Methodology for Space-Grade Reliability

Space electronic systems must operate autonomously in extreme environments, often without the possibility of maintenance or repair. Based on years of mission experience, ALTEN has established a structured methodology that embeds reliability throughout the entire R&D lifecycle:

• Design for Reliability

DFMEA, derating strategies, redundancy architectures;

Failure prevention at the design stage, reducing downstream risk and cost

• Data-Driven Iteration

Continuous optimization using test and validation feedback;

Improved performance robustness and mission adaptability

• Multi-Standard Compliance

Concurrent compliance with ECSS, NASA, CNES, and other international standards;

Seamless collaboration across global space programs

This approach ensures that reliability is not treated as a final verification step, but as a design principle embedded from concept to delivery. 

ALTEN’s collaboration with IRAP extends beyond the delivery of technical services. Working within cleanroom environments and strict space-electronics standards, ALTEN engineers engage closely with researchers to co-develop system architectures, anticipate mission constraints, and address long-term in-orbit reliability challenges. 

This shared, forward-looking approach has enabled a partnership built on technical transparency, mutual trust, and a deep understanding of scientific objectives.

Continuing the Journey of Exploration

As the IRAP Technical Director noted, “We look forward to continuing our collaboration with ALTEN on many future projects.”

From the stratosphere to the lunar surface, and from scientific payloads to mission-critical electronic systems, ALTEN remains committed to supporting research institutions and aerospace organizations worldwide. Through full-stack electronic engineering expertise, cross-disciplinary methodologies, and a collaborative mindset, ALTEN will continue to contribute to future advances in deep space exploration, satellite connectivity, and space science experimentation.

About IRAP

The Institute of Research in Astrophysics et Planetology (IRAP) is a joint research unit of the Universite Paul Sabatier Toulouse III (UPS) and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in which both entities put together staff and resources for the benefit of the laboratory. 

IRAP teams work on the study and understanding of the Universe and its content: the Earth as a planet, its ionized spatial environment, the sun and its planets, the stars and their planetary systems, the interstellar environment, galaxies, compact objects, the very first stars and the primordial Big Bang. This is done through observation, modeling and theory, instrumentation and laboratory experiments.  

With a staff of technical personnel qualified in the field of design, construction, integration and operation of instruments on the ground and in space, IRAP is a major center of instrumentation in astrophysics , at an international level.