CNES
The National Centre for Space Studies ( CNES ) ( French : Centre national d'études spatiales ) is the French government space agency (administratively, a "public administration with industrial and commercial purpose"). Its headquarters are located in central Paris and it is under the supervision of the French Ministries of Defence and Research.
It operates from the Toulouse Space Center and Guiana Space Centre, but also has payloads launched from space centres operated by other countries. The president of CNES is Jean-Yves Le Gall. CNES is member of Institute of Space, its Applications and Technologies. As of April 2018, CNES has the second largest national budget—€2.438 billion—of all the world's civilian space programs, after only NASA.
Major Accomplishments:
- 1947: CIEES/Hammaguir missile range and launch facility built for the French military in French Algeria.
- 1961 CNES founded.
- 1962 First Berenice rocket launched.
- 1964 Diamant Launch Vehicle introduced.
- 1963 CNES became the first—and only—space agency to successfully launch a cat into space ☹️ Her name was Félicette, and she survived the flight 🙂
- 1965 First French satellite put in orbit.
- 1968 Toulouse Space Center completed.
- 1969 French Guiana Space Centre completed
- 1973 Évry Space Centre completed.
- 2014 E-CORCE Earth observation satellite launched
