Jean-Jacques Dordain
Jean-Jacques Dordain (Estrun, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France, April 14, 1946) is a French engineer who served as Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA) from July 2003 to June 2015.
Dordain graduated from École Centrale Paris in 1969 and subsequently began his scientific career at the French National Office for Aerospace Studies and Research (ONERA). He later worked as a professor at the National Higher School of Aeronautics and Space (SUPAERO) in Toulouse during the 1970s and 1980s. He has led numerous research projects on rocket engines and microgravity.
He was also a candidate to become an astronaut: in 1977, he was selected along with four other French candidates for the Spacelab program, although they did not progress further. In 1979, he applied to fly with the Soviets but did not pass the final selection, as the ESA chose two military candidates, Jean-Loup Chrétien and Patrick Baudry.[1]
In 1998, Dordain became Executive Secretary of the Japanese Space Exploration Agency (then NASDA, now JAXA) and later served as Director of Launchers at ESA, before being appointed Director General in July 2003.
Honors and Distinctions
- Honorary Chancellor of the International Space University.
- Officer of the National Order of the Legion of Honour and the National Order of Merit of France.[2]
- Honorary Doctor of the University of Liège, awarded during the academic meeting of 26 September 2012.
References
- World of European Space Agency, Éditions de la Martinière, 2005, 181 pages. (ISBN 2-7324-3282-2 and 9782732432823)