Barely returned to Earth, French astronaut Thomas Pesquet is back in the air, at the controls of a humanitarian plane that flew on Wednesday 13th “I didn’t just want to give up my image or send messages of support, I wanted to do something more,” said the European Space Agency astronaut during a pre-launch press conference organized by the NGO Aviation without Borders.
Thomas Pesquet, who returned in November from his second mission aboard the International Space Station, uses his airline pilot training for this association, of which he is a sponsor. Aviation sans Frontières delivers food and medicine and carries out medical evacuations for 120 NGOs and international organizations. “The plane makes it possible to get rid of the rutted bush tracks and the ‘road tillers’,” bandits who attack motorists in Africa, says Jean-Yves Grosse, flight operations manager at Aviation Sans Frontières.
that’s none #Airplaneit is an essential link in the action #humanitarian. Have a good flight to this exceptional crew! pic.twitter.com/mXLHPZSxrv
— Aviation Without Borders (@ONG_ASF) April 13, 2022
The plane that the astronaut pilots, a brand new Cessna Grand Caravan, ferry across from Kansas in the United States in February. The Frenchman is one of the pilots responsible for taking him to a safe port, although the NGO did not specify if he would go to the end of the voyage. Its exact route was also not disclosed for security reasons. In order to replace its second, outdated device, the NGO still needs 1.5 million euros, which it wants to raise thanks to its partners and donations.
Thomas Pesquet still needs a few flight hours to be fully qualified for the aircraft and to be able to carry out operations in Bangui in the Central African Republic or in Bounia in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the two countries where Aviation sans Frontières uses his aircraft. . “I would like to go out there because I feel really useful there,” he said shortly before his departure.