Alenia Aerospazio, a unit of Finmeccanica, will be the prime contractor on the Cupola program for the International Space Station. The contract, valued at $22.4 million, was signed last week between Alenia and the European Space Agency in Turin, Italy.

The Cupola, a space station control tower, results from a bilateral agreement between NASA and ESA. The ESA is to provide two Cupolas for the International Space Station in exchange for Shuttle transportation of European equipment and experiments to the Station.

Winning the Cupola program places Alenia Aerospazio in the unique position of being the second industry, after prime contractor Boeing, for the design and construction of systems for the International Space Station, said Giuseppe Viriglio, head of Alenia's space division.

The Cupola is an observation module, shaped as a windowed dome, that allows the crew maneuver the robotic arm (the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS)). This facilitates the assembly and attachment of various Station elements.

However, the Cupola isn't limited to operating as a workstation. It will also offer psychological benefits by providing a pressurized observation area for the crew to have a clear view of the station, the stars and Earth, Alenia said, thus playing a vital role in the evolution of the Space Station.

The first of two Cupola units will be attached to the Unity node, the first node, in early 2003. The second will be attached to the third node later that year. Nodes are the interconnecting elements of the Station.

Alenia Aerospazio will coordinate in industrial team of six other European countries: CASA (Spain), APCO (Switzerland), Saab Ericsson and Lindholmen (Sweden), Verhaert (Belgium) and DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (Germany).

"The Cupolas are another two elements of the International Space Station which will be built in Europe, thereby enriching its role in this vast international program," said Joerg Feustel-Buechl, director of ESA's manned spaceflight and microgravity directorate.

In a separate announcement, Alenia Aerospazio said it won a $87 million contract to build tail sections for Airbus A340-500/600 aircraft. The contract was signed with DaimlerChrysler. Production begins in 2000. Alenia also builds parts for Boeing and other US manufacturers and supplies a major part of the Boeing 717. This contract will strengthen ties with Airbus, for which it produces the A321 fuselage.