Frenchwoman Sophie Adenot, 41, will be the first student of the 2022 class of European astronauts to fly to the International Space Station, in spring 2026. The information was made public this Wednesday, May 22 by the European Space Agency (ESA).
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Helicopter pilot, eleventh French astronaut in history, Sophie Adenot will become the second woman from the country to orbit the Earth, thirty years after Claudie Haigneré. A childhood dream, she confided in a interview at RFI may’s beginning. “ A little girl’s dream “, she said again this Wednesday.
There are still a few steps to take before we get there, so I’ll stay focused. Physically, we have a sports module which is very, very intense, since we know that on board the International Space Station, we will lose around 80% of muscular strength and that despite everything, we will have to stay very fit , especially for landing…
Sophie Adenot’s secrets, after the announcement of her departure for the ISS in 2026
Sophie Adenot becomes the first of the 2022 class of European astronauts to have the privilege of taking off. A ” giant step » in her eyes, she reacted to Agence France-Presse.
The French Minister of Research Sylvie Retailleau speaks of a “ real pride “. “ Sophie Adenot is a model of female scientific commitment for all our young girls “, she explains.
The astronaut will be assigned to the ISS with his Belgian colleague Raphaël Liégeois, 36 years old. She will join the Station crew in spring 2026, 400 kilometers above our planet, then he will succeed her at the end of her six-month mission.
“ The assignment of Sophie and Raphaël is a tangible result of our commitment to maintaining a strong European presence » in space, where “ exploration activities are growing at an unprecedented pace », Confided the Director General of the ESA, Josef Aschbacher, from Brussels.
The last five graduates, selected from more than 20,000 applicants, received their diplomas in April, after a year of training at the European Space Center in Cologne. They will all be flying by 2030, assures Mr. Aschbacher.
“ Good news, he specifies, because in the past, flight programs have not always been so precise. » Some had to wait up to ten years to join the International Space Station, recalls the Director General of the Agency.
By adding Sophie Adenot, her comrades, and those of the 2009 class, including the Frenchman Thomas Pesquet, the ESA now has a corps of eleven astronauts, “ the most we’ve ever had at one time “.
Sophie Adenot is an engineer, graduated from the National School of Aeronautics and Space. She holds the rank of lieutenant colonel and was the first female helicopter test pilot.
Burgundian by birth, mother of a young child, she speaks English, German, Spanish and Russian. She also teaches yoga, and this perhaps influenced the content of her comments to RFI at the beginning of the month.
Asked about the prospect of having to wait a long time before flying, “ This is advice that I have often been given, to be patient “, she replied, describing herself “ in the mindset of enjoying the path, whatever the destination “.
She ultimately only waited a few weeks for the path and destination to be shown to her. New French figure, Sophie Adenot will now have to redouble her efforts in her training.
PortraitSophie Adenot, new astronaut for the European Space Agency