Aérospatiale

Aérospatiale (French pronunciation: [aeʁɔspasjal]), sometimes styled Aerospatiale, was a major French state-owned aerospace corporation that developed and manufactured both civilian and military aircraft as well as rockets, missiles and satellites. It was incorporated in 1970 as Société nationale industrielle aérospatiale (SNIAS) through the merger of three state-owned aerospace companies (Sud Aviation, Nord Aviation and SEREB) before being rebranded Aérospatiale soon after. The company was headquartered in the 16th arrondissement of Paris.

In the 1990s, Aérospatiale underwent several significant restructures and mergers. Its helicopter division and that of the German DaimlerBenz Aerospace AG (DASA) merged to form the Eurocopter Group. In 1999, the majority of Aérospatiale's assets, except for its satellite activities, merged with the French conglomerate Matra's aerospace, defence and telecommunications division (Matra Hautes Technologies), to form Aérospatiale-Matra. That same year, the satellite manufacturing division merged with Alcatel to become Alcatel Space, now Thales Alenia Space. In 2001, Aérospatiale-Matra merged with the German DASA and the Spanish aviation company Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) to form the multinational European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), now rebranded Airbus. The majority of the assets of the now defunct company are thus currently part of the multinational Airbus consortium.