About Sodern America
Building on the past, shaping the future
Creation of Sodern
Sodern was founded in France to fulfill a highly strategic mission: developing and manufacturing solutions in support of national sovereignty.
Europe's first Earth horizon sensors
These instruments, precursors of star trackers, positioned Sodern as a world leader in space orientation technology.
First Sodern star tracker
Anticipating the future, Sodern focused on star trackers, which would soon replace Earth horizon sensors.
First Focal Plane
Launch of the French SPOT 1 satellite equipped with Sodern’s DTA01 camera – the result of eight years of development.
First star tracker on a SATCOM
The world’s first deployment of a star tracker on a civil geostationary telecommunications satellite.
First Hydra star tracker
The global benchmark in high-performance star trackers, Hydra delivers modularity and performance with its multiple versions.
SEIS delivery (NASA InSight)
Sodern designed and built the core of the SEIS seismometer, the main instrument of NASA’s InSight mission to explore Mars.
CSO Satellite Launch
For the CSO program, France’s very high-resolution (VHR) military Earth observation satellites, Sodern designed the focal plane, the camera system’s core component.
Auriga™ star tracker first flight
In 2016, Airbus OneWeb Satellites chose Sodern to equip its entire OneWeb constellation with 1,800 Auriga™ star trackers.
Launch of ESA JUICE mission
In 2031, the JUICE space probe will explore Jupiter’s natural satellites. Sodern’s NavCam space camera will capture images of Jupiter’s moons against a stellar background, optimizing guidance and path control during moon overflights in a highly radioactive environment.
Launch of NASA Europa Clipper mission
Launched in 2024, NASA’s Europa Clipper is equipped with a Hydra Custom star tracker for added robustness on its mission to explore Jupiter’s moon Europa.
Creation of Sodern America
Opening of Sodern America in Englewood, south of Denver, Colorado to strengthen Sodern’s presence in the U.S. market and further serve its partners and customers within the U.S.
Quality: A fundamental approach
Sodern America is a trusted partner for customers in the United States, leveraging Sodern’s expertise and its state-of-the-art production and testing facilities. Through a comprehensive industrial approach encompassing automation, digitization, process optimization, and close collaboration with suppliers, Sodern guarantees the delivery of reliable and competitive solutions.
At Sodern America, our teams are trained to the same exacting standards as Sodern’s personnel in France, enabling us to support the most demanding customer projects and to ensure performance, responsiveness, and reliability.
The c.e.o
Tiphaine Louradour
CEOTiphaine Louradour is a Franco-American executive and strategy consultant with over 20 years of experience in the space sector. Having previously worked with Sodern as a Business Partner, she brings deep knowledge of the U.S. space equipment market.
An expert in the space launch and satellite sectors, Ms. Louradour has supported both commercial and government organizations in defining and executing their growth and business development strategies for over twenty years.
Most recently, Ms. Louradour served as CEO of Spaceflight Inc., where she led a funding round, oversaw the company’s acquisition by Firefly Aerospace, and spearheaded a strategic transformation to strengthen its ride-sharing and orbital transfer vehicle offerings. Previously, she was President of International Launch Services (ILS), where she helped revitalize sales while optimizing operational efficiency.
Ms. Louradour is a graduate of Université Paris-Dauphine and the University of South Florida. She is a frequent speaker at major international space industry conferences.
