Europe's three major satellite makers―Alcatel Space, Alenia Spazio and EADS Astrium―still see European linkups as the ultimate I goal, but are hunkering down in the meantime to derive maximum benefit from meager market opportunities. Exploratory talks have been underway for months, precipitated by the downturn in the telecommunications market. The most advanced talks involve Alcatel and Alenia's parent Fin-meccanica, who have been in exclusive negotiations since last autumn to create what would become Europe's biggest space player. However, Alcatel Space's chief executive, Pascale Sourisse, acknowledged that negotiations are "complex," and that despite reports in Italy of an imminent agreement, talks may drag on for some time. "We do not necessarily see an agreement in the short term," Sourisse said during Aviation Week & Space Technology's annual Toulouse Symposium earlier this month.
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