The stars are getting closer for Sophie Adenot. The French astronaut, selected in 2022 and graduated a month ago to the day, was assigned to her first mission and should take off for the International Space Station (ISS) in 2026, announced the Director General of the Space Agency European Union (ESA), Josef Aschbacher, during the Space Council which is being held in Brussels this Wednesday and Thursday.
Raphaël Liégeois, Belgian reserve astronaut, has also been assigned to a mission in 2026, but “Sophie will be the first to fly,” said Josef Aschbacher. In an ESA video, the 41-year-old Frenchwoman, who is the first in her class, with her Belgian colleague, to be assigned to a mission in space, said she was “very happy” with the news, which makes “all those hours of training” come true. But not only.
A “little girl’s dream”
Because being an astronaut “is a little girl’s dream,” she declared. on the set of “20 Heures” on France 2 on the day of the announcement of her selection, November 23, 2022. In her childhood bedroom, only one poster: that of a rocket, she had fun on BFMTV at the same period.
At the origin of this dream, another French astronaut, the only one before her: Claudie Haigneré, who carried out two space missions, in 1996 and 2001. “I was 14 years old when she made her first trip into space , and it was clearly a trigger for me,” she told France 2. “When it took off, I said to myself: ‘From now on, I’m doing whatever it takes to get there’” , she also confided to BFMTV. And whatever it took, she did, because her entire career was directed towards the goal of becoming an astronaut.
First female helicopter test pilot in France
Passionate about aeronautics thanks to her grandfather, who “gave her his love of machines because he was a mechanic in the air force” as she mentions in a portrait devoted to him by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2022, Sophie Adenot graduated in 2003 from the Higher Institute of Aeronautics and Space in Toulouse (like her colleague Thomas Pesquet). In 2004, she obtained a master’s degree from MIT in aeronautical and space human factors science. She then worked for a year at Airbus Helicopter as an engineer in the field of cockpit design.
Helicopters will subsequently be a common thread in her career: in 2005, she joined the air force and became a pilot, we’re telling you, of helicopters. Rising through the ranks, she added a title to her list of achievements in 2019 by becoming the first female helicopter test pilot in France, an achievement motivated by her competitive spirit. “There had never been a woman, but I thought, ‘Okay, what do I do with this information? I’m going to work and I’m going to see if I can learn the skills needed, no matter if I I’m a woman or not.” It was a bit of a challenge of Sophie versus Sophie,” we can still hear in her portrait. A necessary character to become an astronaut, when she was selected from 22,500 applicants.
A busy life
A thrill-seeker, Sophie Adenot has, alongside her career, other hats and diplomas. The list is long: military parachuting certificate, light aircraft and glider pilot licenses, presenter of popular science conferences, keen on mountain sports and scuba diving, certified yoga teacher… “I like the “adventure, I like adrenaline and I like to push myself to my limits”, she confided to RTL at the beginning of the year.
No wonder, therefore, that the woman who is also the mother of a little boy has become an astronaut: “I like to see how we face the unknown, how we react in a hostile environment, and each time I have the impression of progress, I love it. » In summary: “I love learning, it’s the story of my life, ultimately. »
Head to Houston
His apprenticeship will continue in Houston, in the United States, to prepare for his mission aboard the ISS. “Two years to complete all my modules and all my qualifications before being able to take off, it’s going to be intense, but I’m ready, it’s going to be great,” she declares in the ESA video broadcast afterwards. the announcement of his assignment. A lot of work awaits us [avec Raphaël Liégeois], but we are extremely motivated for the future. » A sequel which involves the ISS, but also perhaps, one day, the Moon and the Artemis missions.