National Points of Contact
France
Lucie Crescenzo	Melanie Vincent
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SGAC France

Welcome to the SGAC France page! France has been a major player in institutional and industrial space activities at the international level since November 26th, 1965, date of the launch of Astérix, which is the country’s first artificial satellite.

The launch of Astérix made France the third autonomous space power and the fourth State to put a satellite in orbit. Thanks to its South American territory, French Guyana, where the Guyana Space Center is located, France is now the top commercial launch provider of satellites. Its contribution to the European Space Agency, in terms of funding and infrastructure, makes it one of the key players for the future of European space activities. Notwithstanding its highly competitive space industry, France has also developed a large education system in fields related to space activities.  Examples include both the fundamental sciences and engineering as well as space law and politics. Students and young professionals all over the country are getting more and more involved in the country’s space activities through their studies, conferences and workshops.  This allows them to bring a new vision for the future of global space activities and participate in the great journey of exploring our universe that has been taking place for more than 50 years.

Take a part in this journey through SGAC France!

Young Space Activities in France

France is full of space-related resources! First, many education programmes have been put into place since the beginning of the French space age. Education-wise, many different courses exist.  Covering all aspects of space, the International Space University (ISU), located in Strasbourg, France, provides graduate-level training to the future leaders of the emerging global space community in its two-month Space Studies Program and one-year masters program. The masters degree in Space and Telecommunications Law at University Paris-Sud XI near Paris directed by Pr. Philippe Achilleas is an excellent example of France taking the lead in the space sector as the programme is one of the few courses in Europe addressing space law. Similarly, the Institute of Space and Telecommunications Law (IDEST) is an association, as much as a working group of professionals which aims at promoting space law. There also exists a masters degree in International Law of Spaces, in the University of Western Brittany.

Are you looking for engineering programmes? The prestigious Sup'Aéro Campus welcomes student engineers in the aerospace sector, in the town of Toulouse. Moreover, in order to get a good idea of what real working life means, students can get the chance to participate in the Student Aerospace Challenge, organised and promoted by several major industry players members of the GIFAS (Group of French Aerospace Industry Companies) such as Thales Alenia and Safran. Students get together and work on a project on a specific theme, such as risk management, and are coached by previous challengers.
Because France is a member of the European Space Agency, French students can also be part of a major event of the ECSL (European Centre for Space Law) by participating to the Summer Course on Space Law in September each year. Taking place in one of the universities of a member country, the summer course reunites students from all over Europe and beyond and is a great opportunity to have lectures from many renowned professionals and professors. At the end of the course, in order to implement all that was taught, the students present as teams a project, either a moot court, or a call for tenders on a predefined theme.
France is historically a nest of industrial space and defense players. Naturally, another illustration of how France fosters employment and studies in the space sector is through the GIFAS, which is the aerospace industry group whose mission is to represent the sector to national and international institutions. It also promotes space-releated professions and coordinates the industrial and commercial policies. GIFAS is a great help for students wanting to work in the industry. Finally, GIFAS is a member of the ASD, Aerospace and Defense industries associations for Europe.
Last but not least, many specialised events are organised in which young space professionals can participate, and you may find some in our list below. The famous Salon International de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace at Paris-Le Bourget for example, takes place every two years (the next being in June 2011, so get ready and don't miss it!) and reunites all aerospace actors, including national, but also international industry and institutional players. Paris also welcomes another event, Eurosatory, which is specialised in defence issues and is also every two years.

If you are interested in all these programmes, hurry to the link section below!

Country-Specific Events in 2012

• “Space Tuesdays” (Every third Tuesday of the month in 2012, Café du Pont Neuf, Paris): Come and hear experts and space personalities discuss and answer questions on topics that hit the news in the space sector in a dynamic and convivial atmosphere, at the Café du Pont Neuf, in Paris (from 19.30 to 21.30). The discussions, debates and question times are also punctuated by music sessions. This is definitely the place to be if you want to meet, discuss and approach experts. IT addicts can also follow up on Twitter! Here is an overview of the next topics to be covered : Exploration of the Solar System (January 17^th 2012), Space : Political and economic stakes (21^st February 2012), Space Exploration : what are the risks for our planet (20 March 2012), The ISS : a laboratory for Space (17^th April 2012).
• “Mission X – Train like an Astronaut”(January – March, Paris):MissoneXplore is a sports’ session for young space-fans between 8 and 14 years old. Its goal is to show youngsters a better way to nutrition alongside exercise, on the model of the astronauts in the ISS. The French Space agency, the CNES, will organize from January to March 2012 challenges for many classes in France. Although this activity is available for youngsters, it is great to see how at such a young age space can be educative.
• “R&T Day of the CNES” (Thursday, 26 January 2012, Grenoble) : the Innovation Day has the advantage for international space-fans to be translated into English during the event.
• “Herschel’s view of the formation of the stars: from atoms to pebbles” (20-23rd March 2012): Presenting many space-involved keynote speakers, the event will show how stars and planet form and evolve in time. Since mid-2009, the Herschel Space Observatory provides new light on these long-standing astrophysical questions. With its 3.5m primary mirror, it delivers observations in the 55-671 micrometer range with unprecedented sensitivity, spatial and spectral resolution, revolutionising our understanding of the star and planet formation processes.The symposium will bring together researchers in Star and Planet Formation from around the world. At the time of the conference, most of the observations for the Herschel Guaranteed Time and Open Time Key Projects will have been carried out, and Open Time 1 projects will have largely started. Data reduction will have significantly improved, and in-depth data analysis and detailed modelling will be ongoing. The symposium will thus offer a great opportunity to share the new exciting results obtained with Herschel and to leverage on them for the scientific exploitation of new facilities like ALMA, as well as for triggering new modelling efforts.
• “ECSITE Annual Conference” (31 May – June 2 2012, Toulouse) : Hosted in the Cité de l’Espace in Toulouse, the event will unite professionals from science centres, natural history museums, universities, aquariums, zoos, research institutes and private companies to discuss the hottest topics in science communication. Cutting-edge developments in the field, over 70 inspiring sessions, debates, workshops, a range of warm social engagements and unparalleled networking opportunities for which Ecsite Conferences have become famous. Two days of Pre-Conference Intensive Workshops will take place at Cité de l’espace on 29 and 30 May and the main Conference will be held at a state-of –the-art venue in central Toulouse. The city’s famed Natural History Museum, also a partner of this year’s conference, will open its doors and give you the chance to experience world-class collections and luscious bio diverse gardens. Bring your ideas, meet new faces, reunite with colleagues and challenge yourself. We look forward to welcoming you to Toulouse, a gem of scientific culture in Midi-Pyrénées
• “Toulouse Space Show 2012, The International Week on Space Applications”(25-28th June 2012, Toulouse): will host the most important players in the global aerospace industry, particularly those focusing on space applications.It will provide the opportunity to meet with more than 1000 experts, service providers, clients, users, researchers and students from all over the world.
• “Perspectives Spatiales 2012” Seminar (6 December 2012) : Public and private stakeholders will be brought together in a very high added-value conference organized by Euroconsult. Key speakers will analyze and debate on topics and stakes for space in 2012 and beyond.
• Space Technology Course, (6-10 December 2010), by the CNES, the French space agency : Spacecraft Techniques and Technology. The courses are an introduction to all of the techniques and technology used for building and operating spacecraft, designed for beginner engineers needing an introduction to the field or experienced engineers wanting to broaden their knowledge in order to have a more comprehensive view of space techniques and technology.
• LAL Workshop (15-16 December 2010): Synamics of planetary satellites and rings , Lille observatory. During this workshop, guests and professionals will discuss aspects of the dynamics of planetary satellites and rings, such as ring-satellite interactions, tidal effects, origin, resonant structure and evolution of ring systems, in reference to recent results, in particular from the Cassini mission around Saturn.
• Space Access 2011 Conference: This First Conference on Space Access will provide a dedicated forum to all stakeholders in the sector, addressing the following themes such as Markets, mission requirements, new payloads and services, Systems concepts and design methodologies, Business and programmatic aspects, Technologies and subsystems and many more. For more information check out the conference homepage.
• “The Millimeter and Submillimeter Sky in the Planck mission era” Colloquim January (10-14 January), Cité des Sciences, Paris : physics and observation of the foregrounds of the mission.
• ISU Symposium (15-17 February), “The International Space Station : Maximizing the return from extended operations” : Each year, the International Space University (ISU) organizes a three day symposium addressing a topical theme from an interdisciplinary and international perspective. These symposia attract an audience of around 200 members of the space sector from agencies, industry and academia worldwide.
• ECSL practitioners’ forum 2011, ESA Headquarters, Paris: (18 March 2011),ECSL practitioners’ forum,18 March 2011, ESA Headquarters, Paris : it focused on "Manned Spaceflight Safety Issues: Legal & Policy Aspects".
• The 2nd International IAA Symposium on Private Human Access to Space, Arcachon, France (30 May-01 June): This International Academy of Astronautics’s Symposium will identify the progress made since 2008 (date of the first symposium also held in Arcachon) on this topic. It will address all subjects related to the "Space Transportation of Passengers on a Commercial Basis" and will identify and evaluate the topics linked to Private Human Access to Space, notably Sub-Orbital Missions.
• The ninth European Space Power Conference (ESPC), (6-10 June), Saint Raphaël, France: The ninth European Space Power Conference follows the success of the previous eight conferences (2008 Konstanz, 2005 Stresa, 2002 Porto, 1998 Tarragona, 1995 Poitiers, 1993 Graz, 1991 Florence and 1989 Madrid) which have been held on a bi-annual and tri-annual basis. It is a unique forum covering all aspects of electrical power for space applications, from power system architecture to generation and storage, to power conversion and power management.
• Les journées de la Société Française d’Astronomie et d’Astrophysique, (20-23 June),Paris: More information to be released on the homepage.
• Salon International de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace 2011, Paris-Le Bourget (20-26 June) : The International Paris Air Show –Paris Le Bourget has been the premier and largest worldwide event dedicated to the aviation and space industry for a century. With some 2,000 exhibitors, 138,000 trade visitors, 3,000 journalists and 200 official delegations, the Show indisputably remains a key point in the industry's economic cycle. It is the essential event for meeting aviation and space industry professionals, communicating expertise, presenting innovations and becoming a player in the sector's decision-making.
• “Sustainability of Space Activities : International Issues and Potential Solutions”, (21-23 February, 2012), 16^th ISU Annual International Symposium : International Space University, Strasbourg, France;
• Edoardo Amaldi, the third mission of the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), is scheduled to fly early in 2012 thanks to the launcher Ariane 5 from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou;
• ECSL Practitioners' Forum,(16 March 2012), the next forum will be held on in Room A, European Space Agency Headquarters, Paris, France. The theme will be provided soon.

Legislation

Making

• French Space Operation Act of June the 3rd, 2008

Interesting Web Links for the Young Generation in France

Groups, People, Institutions

Association Aéronautique et Astronautique de France : http://www.aaaf.asso.fr/
Centre Nationale d’Etudes Spatiales : http://www.cnes.fr
Eurisy : http://www.eurisy.org/index.php
Groupe Parlementaire sur l’Espace : http://www.gpespace.fr/
Groupement des Industries Françaises Aéronautiques et Spatiales : www.gifas.asso.fr/
Institut du Droit de l’Espace et des Télécommunications : http://www.idest-paris.org/
Institut Français d’Histoire de l’Espace : http://ifhe.free.fr/
International Space University : www.isu.org/
ISU France : http://isu-france.org/
Office National d’Etudes et de Recherches Aérospatiales : http://www.onera.fr/
Student Aerospace Challenge : http://www.studentaerospacechallenge.eu/

Studies

Aero Emploi Formation : http://www.aeroemploiformation.com
Ecole de l’Air et de l’Espace : http://www.ecole-air.air.defense.gouv.fr/joomla
Ecole Nationale de l’Aviation Civile : http://www.enac.fr
Ecole Supérieur des Technologies Aérospatiales : http://www.esta.aero
EUROSAE (Advanced Training) : http://www.eurosae.com
Formations spatiales : http://www.formations-spatiales.fr
Institut Supérieur de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace : http://www.isae.fr
Intespace : http://www.intespace.fr
University Paris-Sud 11 : http://www.u-psud.fr/ (Masters Degree in Space and Telecommunication Law)
University of Western Brittany : www.univ-brest.fr (Masters Degree in International Law of Spaces)