Jean-Pierre Haigneré

• Mir- Altair   Soyuz TM -16 TM-17/Sojus (1993 )

• Soyuz TM -29 ( 1999)

Jean -Pierre Haigneré ( born May 19, 1948 in Paris, France ) is a French former astronaut.

Life

Military career

From 1969 Haigneré studied at the University of the French Air Force in Salon- de -Provence, which he left in 1971 as a graduate engineer. He was then to 1973 trained as a fighter pilot in Tours.

Until 1980, he served as a pilot and squadron leader at the 13th Squadron in Colmar, where he was employed on various types of Dassault Mirage.

In 1981 attended the Test Pilot School in Boscombe Down, UK, where he received the award " Hawker Hunter" and " Patuxent Shield". His thesis he wrote about the Hawker Siddeley Harrier VTOL aircraft.

Back in France, he was responsible for the introduction of a version of the Mirage 2000, and also for the Dewoitine D.520 flight demonstrations at the military airfield Brétigny -sur -Orge. In 1983 he rose to become chief test pilot.

Haigneré flew over 100 different Flugzeugytypen, he has licenses for commercial aircraft, helicopters and seaplanes.

Spaceman activity

Selection and preparation

In September 1985, Haigneré was selected by the French space agency CNES for the second French astronaut group.

He took up his duties on 1 September 1986. Initially, he worked on the development of the European space plane project Hermes. He was also responsible for the development and introduction of the parabolic flight program " Caravelle Zéro G".

Mir- Antares

In December 1990 Haigneré was selected as a replacement for the French-Soviet research flight Mir- Antares. Together with Michel Tognini, the first choice was, Haigneré was prepared on January 1991 Soviet Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center on this space flight. The flight took place in July and August 1992.

Mir- Altair

For the next Franco-Soviet mission to Mir- Altair, Haigneré was then first election in October 1992. On November 1, 1992, he began training with his reservist Claudie André- Deshays. The examination took place on 4 June 1993 the Great Commission held under the chairmanship of former cosmonaut Yuri Glaskow.

The start of the mission Mir- Altair on July 1, 1993 the Soyuz TM -17 from Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome. On board were Commander Vasily Ziblijew and Flight Engineer Alexander Serebrov.

Two days later, the spacecraft docked to the Mir space station, in which the cosmonaut Gennadi Manakov and Alexander Polstschuk were.

Haigneré devoted himself to the research program, which consisted of various experiments in the life sciences, materials science and technology. On July 22, he returned with Manakov and Polestschuk in Soyuz TM -16 back to Earth.

His first space flight lasted 20 days, much longer than that of the guest cosmonauts from the Intercosmos program. Only Jean- Loup Chrétien had 1988 spent an extended stay as a guest aboard Mir.

From September 1995 Haigneré was responsible for space issues at the French Embassy in Moscow. At the same time he was 95 and I - Cassiopée liaison between the Russian control center in Kaliningrad and the crew of the Mir during missions Me.

After his return, he was responsible for the Airbus machine in France, which had acquired the CNES for parabolic flights. The license as Airbus pilot had received in 1994 Haigneré.

Mir- Pegase

In December 1996, the CNES, the crew for the next Franco- Russian research flight Mir- Pegase announced: as an astronaut Leopold Eyharts was nominated, spare man in turn was Jean -Pierre Haigneré. As of January 12, 1997, the two were preparing for this mission in the Russian Star City. Eyharts launched on 29 January 1998 with Soyuz TM -27 to Mir space station and returned 20 days later with Soyuz TM -26.

Mir- Perseus

In June 1998 Haigneré changed officially in the European Astronaut Corps, but was optional for the ongoing mission of CNES.

Shortly before, he had been selected for the next Franco- Russian research mission, Mir- Perseus, which provided for a stay of several months of cosmonaut guest this time. As a replacement wife was as divided in his first space flight Claudie André- Deshays.

The launch took place on February 20, 1999 Soyuz TM- 29th In addition to the Russian commander Viktor Afanasyev was with Ivan Bella from Slovakia, a second guest cosmonaut on board. This was the first time that a Soyuz spacecraft transported two foreigners.

Soyuz TM -29 docked two days later at the Mir space station in which were at that time Gennady Padalka and Sergei Avdeev. Padalka and Bella returned with Soyuz TM -28 back to Earth, so that the new crew of the station from Afanasyev, Avdeev and Haigneré existed.

In contrast to previous missions with guest cosmonauts Haigneré was not only research cosmonaut, but full-fledged flight engineer with extensive activities and responsibilities. Among other Haigneré led together with Afanasyev on 16 April 1999, a spacewalk by.

At the time of the future of space flight I was still unclear. It was more than questionable whether the funds for another crew could be applied. Haigneré and the two Russian cosmonauts thus prepared the Space Station to a longer time unmanned.

As Haigneré, Afanasyev and Avdeev landed on 28 August 1999, a nearly ten-year era came to an end, while the always was at least one astronaut in space.

With a flight time of 188 days Haigneré set a new record for long-term space travelers from host nations, which was not broken since then. Haignerés record for the longest total time (209 days ) broke Thomas Reiter in August 2006.

After the active time

After this spacecraft Haigneré became head of the astronaut team of ESA. He held until November 1999 this office.

Since then, he is a leading advisor to the ESA launch director for possible flights of Sojusrakete from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana.

On 3 December 2005 Haigneré founded together with Laurent Gathier of Dassault Aviation and Alain Dupas by CNES astronaute the Club Européen (ACE). This association aims to promote the European space tourism.

Honors

Haigneré is an officer of the Legion of Honor and Chevalier of the Ordre national du Mérite. He wears the Médaille de l' Aéronautique, the Russian " Order of Friendship " and the Order for " personal courage ", awarded by Russian President Boris Yeltsin. In 1994 him the " Grand Prix de l' Académie de Lutèce " was awarded.

The asteroid ( 135268 ) Haigneré, which was discovered in September 2001, was Claudie and named after his wife him.

Private

Jean -Pierre Haigneré is married in second marriage with the astronaut Claudie Haigneré and has three children, two from his first marriage.

External links and sources

• Spacefacts.de: Short Biography
• ESA: Biography of Jean -Pierre Haigneré (English)
• Biography of Jean -Pierre Haigneré (French)
• Astronaute Club Européen (French)

• Mir crew
• Soyuz crew
• French aerospace
• ESA
• Member of the Legion of Honour ( Officer )
• Support of the French National Order of Merit ( Knight )
• Of the Order of Friendship
• Spaceman (France)
• Frenchman
• Born in 1948
• Man