Jean-François Clervoy
In partnership with CNES (the National Center for Space Studies)
and the ESA (the European Space Agency)
“He flirts with earth and with space, totally in love with the former and fascinated by the latter. An explorer unlike any other, serving both man and science, he pursues his dream well beyond all understanding.” Zellidja Foundation
The CNES – National Center for Space Studies
The mission of the National Center for Space Studies (CNES), a public institution focused on industry and commerce, is to inform the government regarding France’s space policy within Europe and to implement that policy. In order to do so, it “invents” the space systems of the future, becomes familiar with all aspects of space technology and assures France’s autonomy with regards to its access to space.
As a major player in Europe’s space program, the National Center for Space Studies is at the forefront of efforts made on behalf of France and Europe’s space programs. The CNES also maintains France’s participation within the European Space Agency.
The CNES works in conjunction with the scientific and industrial partners that it originally developed the space programs with. The Center also cooperates on numerous international efforts that are linked with space policies already in place.
The ESA – European Space Agency
The European Space Agency represents a way for Europe to gain access to space. Its mission consists of developmental activities designed to enhance the capabilities of the European space programs and, consequently, of assuring that Europeans continue to benefit from investments made in these programs. The ESA is made up of eighteen member states. By coordinating financial resources as well as expertise, the Agency can undertake programs and activities that go well beyond any efforts made by one individual country.
The Agency’s primary mission is to increase the activities of the European space program and to achieve beneficial results. Their projects are designed with the objectives of learning more about Earth, its nearby space environment, the solar system and the universe, perfecting satellite technologies and services and promoting European industries.
The ESA also works closely with space organizations outside of Europe so that the benefits of space may contribute to the well being of humanity as a whole.
The Speaker
Jean-François Clervoy is the only French astronaut to have had the privilege of going to the Hubble telescope in space. Along with Jean-Loup Chrétien, he is the French astronaut who has traveled to space the most.
He is part of the corps of astronauts within the ESA and President/ General Director of Novespace, a subsidiary of CNES that is responsible for parabolic flights on the A300 ZERO-G. He is also an honorary member of various institutions, including the Association of Space Explorers, the French Association of Aeronautics and Astronauts, the Academy of Air and Space, and the International Academy of Astronauts.
Jean-François Clervoy holds degrees from two prestigious institutions: Paris Polytech (1981) and Toulouse’s School for Advanced Study in Aeronautics and Space (1983). He earned his certification as a navigating engineer of test flights in 1987 and became general engineer of armaments with the General Delegation of Armaments in 1987.
He is currently detailed to the National Center for Space Studies. In 1985, he was selected to be part of the second group of French astronauts. From 1987 to 1992, he led the program for non-orbiting space flights at the test-flight center in Brétigny-sur-Orge.
During the same period, he worked in Toulouse at the European Space Agency office responsible for outfitting the space plane, Hermes. He also participated in defining and running trials for man-machine interfaces of manned flights of European space vehicles.
In 1991, he trained at the City of the Stars near Moscow on the Russian systems and vessels Soyouz and Mir. In 1992, he joined the group of astronauts in the European Space Agency at the Center for European Astronauts in Köln, Germany.
In August 1992, Jean-François Clervoy was detailed by the ESA to the astronauts’ office at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston in order to qualify as a mission specialist for the space shuttle. He was aboard two flights on the space shuttle Atlantis and was then aboard Discovery for a third flight, for a total of 675 hours in space.
He also took part in space flight STS-66 (November 3 –14, 1994), which studied the composition of Earth’s atmosphere and its evolution under the effects of solar energy. He spent 262 hours and 34 minutes in flight and completed 175 orbits of the Earth.
Following this, on space flight STS-66 (May 15 – 24, 1997), he participated in a docking mission between the space shuttle and the Russian station Mir. For that mission, he trained for space walks in the event of an emergency during the flight.
He also completed space flight STS103 (December 19 –27, 1999), where he helped repair the Hubble space telescope. The telescope had been disabled following a series of breakdowns in the gyroscopes, which made fine adjustments to the direction that the telescope pointed once in space.
After completing his third flight, he was made responsible for the integration of control interfaces of all the international space stations’ systems. From 2001 to 2008, he was named lead astronaut of the European Space Agency project for resupplying the Automated Transfer Vehicle, working at the aerospace industry center in Les Mureaux, France. In 2008 he headed up the jury that selected the next group of ESA astronauts.
He is the author of the book, Space Stories (Histoire(s) d’Espace), which recounts his third mission to the Hubble space telescope.
Jean-François Clervoy has received the space flight medal three times and has twice received the Exceptional Service medal from NASA. He is an Officer in the Legion of Honor and a Knight of the National Order of Merit.
Lectures
Living and Working in Space
Living and working in space? Living in space means camping, though the astronauts rarely leave their “tent.” Working there essentially means completing a series of specified instructions.
An astronaut can start out as a professional in any one of several areas. Some have been scientists, others have been engineers, and still others have been pilots in other professional settings. During their space missions, they’re required to be operators.
They operate often complex scientific instruments in need fine adjustments in direction, calibration and other parameters. They also need to be able to pilot and repair damaged satellites. Although the majority of astronauts are explorers at heart, they are, above all, operators who make sure everything is done according to a specified set of procedures. The main challenge in life aboard a space vehicle is, first and foremost, organization. It’s “camping,” so to speak, while weightless, which includes taking care of hundreds of tasks per day, like sleeping, eating, washing up, relaxing, etc.
This presentation will explore all aspects of space travel: the incredible power of lift-off engines, weightlessness, a black sky in the middle of the day and the power and the beauty of the Earth. We will discuss work aboard a very complex space vehicle, as well as team spirit, procedures done by robots, space walks, maintenance of the solar panels and the overall risks.
STS-103 scientific space mission
The third mission, STS-103, was entirely involved with the repair and improvement of the Hubble space telescope. Two months before lift-off, it became inoperable due to a malfunction of the gyroscope aboard the satellite.
We were carrying on our shoulders the careers of several hundred scientists whose work depended entirely on the data transmitted by the telescope, which remains to this day unequaled in the imagery made available from faraway corners of the universe.
As a result of the discoveries made by Hubble, specialists working with it have agreed to recognize it as being on a par with the first astronomical lens invented by Galileo.
The Hubble orbit is also unique because of its altitude: the highest ever attained by a space shuttle.
I’ve been able to have a long and careful look at our planet from an altitude of six hundred kilometers, two times deeper in space than other orbiting satellites. With maximum brightness of the full moon during the mission, I was able to see the exceptional spectacle that is the shadow zone of Earth, which was marked by the continents’ magical phosphorescence.
The spectacular results of our mission to save Hubble, which we saw upon our return through the agency that manages Hubble’s data, the Space Telescope Science Institute, gave me the deep conviction of having served science. I would be proud to say to my grandchildren, “I was there,” in the hopes of communicating to them this thirst for human adventure.
The space station and what is at stake in international cooperation
NASA’s international space station, orbiting Earth at low altitude, has had international teams aboard without interruption since 2000. As of 2009, it is the largest artificial satellite that has been put into Earth’s orbit (fifteen revolutions a day).
Due to its special vantage point for viewing both the Earth and space, it is an observatory unlike any other. By 2011, it will be completely operational and should remain so till 2016. Its functional life may be extended until 2020.
The space station was the result of international cooperation between the United States, Europe, Canada, and, later, Japan, which joined in 1986 at the invitation of President Reagan, and Russia, which became associated with the project in 1993.
The ambitious program is directed by three international agreements: an international treaty signed by fifteen states on January 29, 1988; four accords (Memoranda of Understanding) signed by NASA with each of the space agencies concerned – the European Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency, the Russian Space Agency, Rosviakosmos, and the Japanese Space Agency; and several bilateral agreements between various associated countries.
The signers are motivated by a number of factors, including:
- Politics: the program does indeed contribute to peaceful relations among the concerned countries. It reinforces political and industrial cohesion within Europe and makes it a globally competitive partner;
- Technology: the cooperation allows Europe to take advantage of different levels of expertise and operational, technical and industrial knowledge for long-term manned space flight, sometimes assuring very complex operations. The station is also destined to serve as a platform for future exploration in space;
- Economy: it stimulates scientific research and its applications in space as well as in the area of new technologies and contributes to the development of new markets, specifically industrial production for infrastructures needed in space.
The space station demonstrates today that research can go beyond conflicts of interest in politics and economics between the countries involved.
It also shows that it can respond to such noble and universal goals that, in order to be attained, require the ability to get beyond the borders of any one country in particular.
Links
http://www.france24.com/en/20090720-the-interview-jean-francois-clervoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7TlPnkZuWs
http://www.france24.com/en/20090720-the-interview-jean-francois-clervoy
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8e77w_en-route-pour-mars-jeanfrancois-cle_news
http://www.esa.int/esaHS/ESA1BUZUMOC_astronauts_0.html
www.esa.int
http://www.cnes.fr
Express your interest in this lecture - Online Forms
Express your interest in this lecture - Download Paper Forms