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The French space program includes both civil and military spaceflight activities. It is the third oldest national space program in the world, after the Soviet (now Russian) and American space programs, and the largest space program in Europe.
Space travel has long been a significant ambition in French culture. From the Gobelins' 1664 tapestry representing a space rocket, [1] to Jules Verne's 1865 novel From the Earth to the Moon and George Méliès' 1902 film A Trip to the Moon , space and rocketry were present in French society long before the technological means appeared to allow the development of a space exploration program.
During the late 18th century, Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier, Jacques Charles and the Montgolfier brothers are seen as worldwide precursors and explorers of aeronautics, with the world record altitude then reached by a human at 7,016 metres (23,018 ft) performed by Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac in 1804. Those names, their numerous students and their works will mark the early expertise of France's space program in all types of air balloons since.
In the beginning of the twentieth century, the origins of the French space program are tied to French technological developments in aerospace and astronautics, notably the nascent airplane and rocket industries.
Robert Esnault-Pelterie appears as one of the early pioneers in space exploration design and rocket science. From 1908, he studied propulsion and space flight; without knowing the work of Russian mathematician Konstantin Tsiolkovsky at that time, he derived the mathematical equations for interplanetary flight, flight durations, and engine propulsion, and was later nominated President of the Chambre Syndicale des Industries Aéronautiques (Trade association of Aircraft industries) in 1912. [2] From 1935 to 1939 he designed a high-altitude sounding rocket, but World War II interrupted his plans; German experts believed that the rocket could have reached its design goal of 60 miles (97 km). [3] Esnault-Pelterie convinced physicist Jean-Jacques Barré, a pioneer in rocket propulsion, to collaborate on the design of a self-propelled cryogenic rocket. Between 1927 and 1933, Barré did extensive research and developed a rocket that could reach the upper atmosphere and space, the EA-41 Eole (see picture). [4]
The beginning of the institutional French space program dates back to 1946 when, right after World War II, the Laboratoire de recherches balistiques et aérodynamiques (LRBA, Ballistic and aerodynamic research laboratory) was formed in Vernon to develop the next generation of rockets, partly taking advantage of the German development of the V2 rocket.
Before this and during the war, as Free France continued to work, the EA-41 was tested and improved by military personnel, from October 1942 through to 1945. [5]
22 May 1952: Véronique N1 is successfully launched from the Saharan desert. [5]
In 1958, President Charles de Gaulle directed the creation of several space research committees. In 1959, the Comité d'études spatiales was born under the supervision of Pierre Auger. In 1961, de Gaulle signed the creation of the Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES) to coordinate French space activities. Development of Western Europe's first carrier rocket, the Diamant, began in 1962, first launched in Algeria.
On November 26, 1965, Astérix, the first French satellite in space, is successfully launched by a Diamant rocket from the Algerian desert. It is active for 2 consecutive days before ceasing to transmit. [5]
In 1965, France's space launch pads and CNES settled in Kourou.
In 1973, France drove the creation of the European Space Agency and became its first contributor.
The French space budget, although stagnant since the early 2000s in constant euros, remains in absolute terms the largest of the member countries of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the second largest national budget (after the United States of America) at €2.33 billion. [6] In 2004, this budget stood at €1.698 billion, with €685 million being transferred to the Paris-based ESA for the programs conducted under its supervision.
The Ariane rocket family is France's own rocket family, whose use has been extended to the whole of ESA member countries.
Its spaceport, near Kourou, was selected in 1964 to host all of France's launches. Later, it was selected as ESA's launch site. Before being in French Guiana, France's space launches were made from Algeria, in Colomb-Béchar and Hammaguir. [7]
The French space program thus benefits from the best ground position for launch sites on Earth, as its position 5.3° north of the equator allows rockets to gain propulsion from the spinning of the Earth when launched eastward (+460 m/s) and save on propellant. No other governmental launch sites allow this level of physical parameters. It is also able to launch satellites into polar orbits from this spaceport.
As of 2017 [update] , Kourou counts amongst the spaceports with the highest percentage of successful launches, both successive and overall. Here is a chronology of all orbital launches from the Kourou spaceport since 1970, under the French and European space programmes.
Success Failure Partial Failure Scheduled
France's public involvement in space technologies is also deep into European programs such as Columbus (Thales Alenia Space) or Automated Transfer Vehicle (Airbus Defence and Space).
The French space program includes collaborations between its institutions and other countries, European as well as other foreign countries and institutions (JAXA, ISRO, NASA, CNSA) in projects ranging from the Herschel Space Observatory to BepiColombo, Saral/Altika and the Planck space observatory. [10]
Since 2010, France and Russia have been collaborating on several space missions, including long-run science programmes like Cardiomed, dedicated to monitoring cardiovascular health in cosmonauts. [11]
In 2016, for the COP21, CNES and ISRO impulsed a groundbreaking and worldwide plan to unite all space agencies for the gathering of satellite information and detection on greenhouse gas emissions, allowing more precise measurements and decision making. [12] In addition, CNES and ESA have a strong background of collaboration, notably building the largest single satellite surveyance program for earth's biological monitoring (Copernicus Programme).
CNES has provided essential instruments (cameras) on an Indian mission to the Moon (Chandrayaan-1), launched in January 2018. [13] A consortium led by the CNES also built Argos instruments on board India's Oceansat-3 in 2018. [14] A third collaboration between the ISRO and French space actors (LESIA, CNRS, Université Paris-VI and Université Paris-VII) has seen the launch of PicSat in January 2018, a nano-satellite that surveys the Beta Pictoris star for exoplanets. [15]
The French space agency was also responsible for the construction of the main instruments on the French-German-American InSight mission to Mars, which launched on 5 May 2018 and landed on 26 November 2018.
On 20 October 2018, CNES and JAXA launched the BepiColombo mission to study the magnetic field of Mercury and map its surface.
On 29 October 2018, the CFOSAT (China-France Oceanography SATellite) was placed into Earth orbit to study ocean surface winds and waves. [16] After President Macron's state visit to China in January 2018, the French-Chinese collaboration in space was increased significantly and includes more in-depth collaboration, notably in the sharing of CFOSAT data, meant to study oceans and their interaction with the atmosphere, as well as in the SVOM program. [17]
In 2020, Solar Orbiter was launched by NASA, containing instruments designed by CNES and other French industrial actors. [18]
The French satellite TARANIS, with international collaboration, was launched in November 2020. The launch was a failure (of the launching rocket) and the satellite never entered use. It would have been the 1st satellite designed to observe lightning at altitudes of 20 to 100 km. [19]
 | This section needs to be updated.(January 2019) |
The construction of the Ariane 6 launcher is underway, after being approved by all ESA countries in 2016. [20] It is designed by Airbus Safran Launchers. [21]
2023 will mark the launch of Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer. It will study Jupiter and three of its moons with a view to gaining new insights into how life emerged. [22] This mission is a collaboration of CNES with CNRS and ESA.
In 2025, France and Germany will launch their collaborative mission Merlin, due to study methane levels and concentrations in the Earth's atmosphere. [23] [24]
Ariane 5 is a retired European heavy-lift space launch vehicle developed and operated by Arianespace for the European Space Agency (ESA). It was launched from the Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG) in French Guiana. It was used to deliver payloads into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO), low Earth orbit (LEO) or further into space. The launch vehicle had a streak of 82 consecutive successful launches between 9 April 2003 and 12 December 2017. Since 2014, Ariane 6, a direct successor system, is in development.
Arianespace SA is a French company founded in 1980 as the world's first commercial launch service provider. It undertakes the operation and marketing of the Ariane programme. The company offers a number of different launch vehicles: the heavy-lift Ariane 6 for dual launches to geostationary transfer orbit, and the solid-fueled Vega series for lighter payloads.
The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 22-member intergovernmental body devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,200 people globally as of 2022, ESA was founded in 1975. Its 2024 annual budget was €7.8 billion.
This article gives a concise timeline of rocket and missile technology.
The Ariane 4 was a European expendable launch vehicle, developed by the Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES), the French space agency, for the European Space Agency (ESA). It was manufactured by ArianeGroup and marketed by Arianespace. Since its first flight on 15 June 1988 until the final flight on 15 February 2003, it attained 113 successful launches out of 116 total launches.
The Diamant rocket was the first exclusively French expendable launch system and at the same time the first satellite launcher not built by either the United States or USSR. As such, it has been referred to as being a key predecessor for all subsequent European launcher projects.
The Guiana Space Centre, also called Europe's Spaceport, is a European spaceport to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana, a region of France in South America. Kourou is located approximately 310 mi (500 km) north of the equator at a latitude of 5°. In operation since 1968, it is a suitable location for a spaceport because of its equatorial location and open sea to the east.
Ariane 1 was the first rocket in the Ariane family of expendable launch systems. It was developed and operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), which had been formed in 1973, the same year that development of the launcher had commenced.
The National Centre for Space Studies is the French national space agency headquartered in central Paris and it comes under the supervision of the French Ministries of Defence and Research.
Vega is an expendable launch system in use by Arianespace jointly developed by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the European Space Agency (ESA). Development began in 1998 and the first launch took place from the Guiana Space Centre on 13 February 2012.
This is a timeline of first orbital launches by country. While a number of countries, incl. Canada, Australia, Germany, Brazil, Algeria, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Argentina, Italy, Malaysia, Poland, South Africa, the Philippines, Egypt, Spain, Mexico, Thailand and Chile, have built or launched satellites, as of 2022, eleven countries, incl. the United States, Japan, India, China, Iran, Israel, France, the United Kingdom and South Korea, have had the capability to send objects into orbit with their own launch vehicles. Russia and Ukraine inherited the capability of the space launchers and satellites from the Soviet Union, following its dissolution in 1991. Russia launches its rockets from its own and foreign (Kazakh) spaceports.
HYLAS is a British satellite in geostationary orbit. HYLAS, which is an acronym for Highly Adaptable Satellite, is a communications satellite and was launched by the European Ariane 5 launch vehicle from the Guyana Space Centre at Kourou in French Guiana. It is located at the orbital location of 33.5 degrees west and will provide new and innovative services including High Definition Television (HDTV) and interactive satellite delivered broadband services. The satellite will help address the issue of poor broadband coverage in many parts of Europe which have less developed ground infrastructure.
The Ensemble de Lancement Soyouz (ELS) is a launch complex at the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou/Sinnamary, French Guiana. It was used by Soyuz-ST rockets: modified versions of the Soyuz-2 optimised for launch from Kourou under Soyuz at the Guiana Space Centre programme.
INSAT 3E is a defunct communication satellite built by Indian Space Research Organisation. It was launched on September 28, 2003, from the European Space Agency's spaceport in French Guiana on board the Ariane rocket. The satellite had a launch mass of 2750 kilograms. It is the 4th satellite launched in the INSAT-3 series for INSAT. It was designed for providing high-speed communication, Television, VSAT & Tele-education services and was an important landmark in Indian Space Programme.
Ariane 6 is a European expendable launch system under development since the early 2010s by ArianeGroup on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA). It replaces the Ariane 5, as part of the Ariane launch vehicle family. The stated motivation for Ariane 6 was to halve the cost compared to Ariane 5, and increase the capacity for the number of launches per year.
ArianeGroup is an aerospace company based in France. A joint venture between Airbus and Safran, the company was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Issy-les-Moulineaux. It consists of three core groups: aerospace, defence and security. ArianeGroup is developing its next-generation two-stage Ariane 6 launch vehicle, intended to succeed the Ariane 5 rocket, which has had more than 110 launches. The new vehicle will be offered in two variants that will be capable of carrying between 10,350 and 21,650 kilograms. The first launch of Ariane 6 is expected to occur in 2024.
Ariane flight VA241 was an Ariane 5 space launch that occurred from the Guiana Space Centre on 25 January 2018 at 22:20 UTC.
The Themis programme is an ongoing European Space Agency programme that is developing a prototype reusable rocket first stage and plans to conduct demonstration flights. The prototype rocket will also be called Themis.
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