The Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) is the French government space agency (administratively, a "public administration with industrial and commercial purpose"). Its headquarters are located in central Paris and it's placed under the supervision of the french Ministries of Defense and Research. It operates out of the Centre Spatial Guyanais, but also has payloads launched from other space centres operated by other countries. CNES formerly...
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The Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) is the French government space agency (administratively, a "public administration with industrial and commercial purpose"). Its headquarters are located in central Paris and it's placed under the supervision of the french Ministries of Defense and Research. It operates out of the Centre Spatial Guyanais, but also has payloads launched from other space centres operated by other countries. CNES formerly was responsible for the training of French spationauts, but the last of them were transferred to the European Space Agency in 2001.
Assured access to space underpins any global, coherent space policy. France was the 3rd space power to achieve this distinction, sharing technologies with Europe to boost development of the Ariane launcher family.
International competition in space is fierce, so launch services must be tailored to space operators’ needs. The new versions of Ariane 5 can launch large satellites or perform dual launches. And the...
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