Astronaut Jean-Jacques Favier, the sixth Frenchman to fly into space during a flight aboard the American shuttle Columbia, has died at the age of 73, the National Center for Space Studies (CNES) said on Friday.
Jean-Jacques Favier, a physicist and engineer by training, was selected as an “experimental astronaut” by the French space agency in 1985 while he was a research engineer at the Atomic Energy Commission (CEA).
Within the CNES he became the scientific director of the Mephisto space furnace, flying several times aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. In 1995 he was assigned as a special astronaut for an experiment in the Spacelab laboratory carried away from the American ship.
From June 20 to July 7, 1996, it spent 16 days, 21 hours and 48 minutes in orbit. This is 14 years after Jean-Loup Chrétien, the first Frenchman to fly into space aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.
Jean-Jacques Favier thus becomes “the first French scientist to remain in space”, specifies the CNES and pays tribute to his “exemplary career”.
“He will shape future generations and inspire many of us,” adds CNES CEO Philippe Baptiste in the press release.
During his mission, Jean-Jacques Favier was responsible for more than 30 physics experiments in microgravity.
After his career as an astronaut, he became involved in education and research, notably working on a CNES project to prepare for a future lunar and/or Mars base.