CNES
Centre national d'études spatiales | |
Space agency | |
Jurisdiction | Government of France |
---|---|
Headquarters | Paris, Île-de-France |
Administrator | Philippe Baptiste |
Primary spaceports | |
Annual budget | €2.566 billion (2022)[1] |
Website | cnes |
The National Centre for Space Studies (CNES; French: Centre national d'études spatiales) is the French national
It operates from the Toulouse Space Centre and the Guiana Space Centre, but also has payloads launched from space centres operated by other countries. The president of CNES is Philippe Baptiste.[2] CNES is a member of Institute of Space, its Applications and Technologies. It is Europe's largest national organization of its type.[3]
History
CNES was established under President Charles de Gaulle in 1961. It is the world's third oldest space agency, after the Soviet space program (Russia), and NASA (United States). CNES was responsible for the training of French astronauts, until the last active CNES astronauts transferred to the European Space Agency in 2001.
As of January 2015[update], CNES is working with Germany and a few other governments to start a modest research effort with the hope to propose a
Timeline
- 1947: French military in French Algeria.[6]
- 1961 CNES founded.[7]
- 1962 First Berenice rocket launched.[8]
- 1963 CNES became the first—and only—space agency to successfully launch a cat into space.[9]
- 1964 Diamant Launch Vehicle introduced.[8]
- 1965 First French satellite put in orbit.[10]
- 1967 Hammaguir range closed.[8]
- 1968 Toulouse Space Centre completed.[11]
- 1969 French Guiana Space Centre completed.[7]
- 1973 Évry Space Centre completed.[12]
- 2014 E-CORCE Earth observation satellite launched[13]
Programs
CNES concentrates on five areas:[14]
- Access to space
- Civil applications of space
- Sustainable development
- Science and technology research
- Security and defence
Access to space
France was the third space power (see
Sustainable development
CNES and its partners in Europe—through the
Civil applications
CNES is taking part in the
Security and defense
The aforementioned Galileo navigation programme, though intended primarily for civilian navigational use, has a military purpose as well, like the similar American Global Positioning System and Russian GLONASS satellite navigational systems.[16]
In addition to Spot and the future Pleiades satellites, CNES is working for the defence community as prime contractor for the
Global Monitoring for Environment and Security—a joint initiative involving the EU, ESA, and national space agencies—pools space resources to monitor the environment and protect populations, though it also encompasses satellite support for armed forces on border patrol, maritime security, and peacekeeping missions.[17]
Ongoing missions
France's contribution to the
CNES currently collaborates with other space agencies on a number of projects, including orbital telescopes like
It has also collaborated with the Indian Space Agency (
UFO Archive
In December 2006, CNES announced that it would publish its UFO archive online by late January or mid-February. Most of the 6,000 reports have been filed by the public and airline professionals. Jacques Arnould, an official for the French Space Agency, said that the data had accumulated over a 30-year period and that UFO sightings were often reported to the Gendarmerie.
In the last two decades of the 20th century, France was the only country whose government paid UFO investigators, employed by CNES's UFO section GEPAN, later known as SEPRA and now as GEIPAN.
On March 22, 2007, CNES released its UFO files to the public through its website. The 100,000 pages of witness testimony, photographs, film footage, and audiotapes are an accumulation of over 1,600 sightings since 1954 and will include all future UFO reports obtained by the agency, through its GEIPAN unit.
Tracking stations
The CNES has several
- Kourou in French Guiana
- Issus Aussaguel, 20 km away from Toulouse
- Kerguelen Island, French Southern and Antarctic Lands
- Hartebeesthoek, South Africa
- SPOTprogram
See also
References
- ^ UN BUDGET EXCEPTIONNEL, CNES, 17 August 2022, retrieved 2022-11-04
- ^ "Macron names Philippe Baptiste new head of French CNES". Spacewatch Global. April 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
- ^ "French Space Agency | French government agency". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
- ^ de Selding, Peter B. (5 January 2015). "CNES proposal". de Selding is a journalist for Space News. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
- ^ de Selding, Peter B. (5 January 2015). "With Eye on SpaceX, CNES Begins Work on Reusable Rocket Stage". SpaceNews. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
- ISBN 2-907341-63-4, 648 pages
- ^ a b "About CNES". CNES. 23 April 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- ^ a b c Wade, Mark. "Hammaguira". Astronautix. Archived from the original on September 7, 2016.
- ISBN 978-0-387-36053-9.
- ^ "Diamant launchers". Archived from the original on 2006-10-01. Retrieved 2006-06-20.
- ^ Shah, Kierann (May 27, 2016). "A Visit to Toulouse: France's Space Capital". National Space Centre Blog. National Space Centre. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- ^ "Contact us." Arianespace. Retrieved on 24 September 2009.
- ^ "E-CORCE". CNES. 23 March 2015.
- ^ "About CNES". CNES. 23 April 2015.
- ^ Federation, International Astronautical. "IAF : Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES)". www.iafastro.org. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
- ^ a b "Galileo and EGNOS". ESA Navigation. ESA. August 24, 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
- ^ "Security Service" (PDF) (Press release). Paris: European Space Agency. September 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-05-01. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
- ^ "PRISMA PROGRAMME SEEKS TO ACQUIRE EXPERTISE IN FORMATION FLYING" (Press release). Toulouse: CNES. June 22, 2006. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
- ^ "Les stations de contrôle". Retrieved 2008-06-22.
- ^ "Cnes - Fin de vie de SPOT 1". Archived from the original on 2008-06-06. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
External links
- CNES — Homepage (in French)
- CNES — Homepage (in English)
- CNES — UFO Data