Michel Tognini facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Michel Tognini
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| Born | 30 September 1949 Vincennes, France
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| Status | Retired |
| Nationality | French |
| Occupation | Test Pilot |
| Space career | |
| CNES/ESA astronaut | |
| Rank | Brigadier General, French Air Force |
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Time in space
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18d 17h 46m |
| Selection | 1985 CNES Group 2, 1999 ESA Group |
| Missions | Soyuz TM-15/14, STS-93 |
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Mission insignia
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Michel Tognini, born on September 30, 1949, in Vincennes, France, is a brave French test pilot and a former astronaut. He was also a brigadier general in the French Air Force. Michel worked for both the French space agency (CNES) and the European Space Agency (ESA). He even led the European Astronaut Centre for several years!
Michel Tognini has flown into space twice, spending a total of 19 days orbiting Earth. He is an expert pilot, having flown 80 different types of aircraft, mostly fighter jets. He has spent over 4,000 hours flying! He can speak English and Russian very well.
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Early Life and Education
Michel Tognini was born in Vincennes, France. After finishing high school at Lycée de Cachan in Paris, he went to a military school called EPA Grenoble. Later, he studied at the Ecole de l'Air, which is a famous French air force academy. He graduated from there in 1973.
Military Career and Test Piloting
After graduating, Michel Tognini became a fighter pilot. He flew planes like the SMB2 and Mirage F1 for the French Air Force. He became a flight leader in 1976 and a flight commander in 1979.
In 1982, he went to the Empire Test Pilots' School in the United Kingdom. This is a special school where pilots learn how to test new aircraft and their systems. After getting his test pilot diploma, he worked at the Cazaux Flight Test Center in France.
As a test pilot, Michel helped test many French aircraft. He worked on the weapon systems for planes like the Mirage 2000-C and Mirage 2000-N. He was also in charge of making sure that flights were safe for all the pilots and engineers.
Becoming an Astronaut
In 1985, France started looking for new astronauts. Michel Tognini was one of seven people chosen by CNES, the French space agency. In 1986, he went to Moscow for medical tests. He was then chosen as a backup crew member for the Soyuz TM-7 mission.
From September 1986, Michel started training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia. This training included learning how to do spacewalks for a joint Soviet-French mission called ARAGATZ.
First Space Mission: Antares
In 1991, Michel Tognini returned to Star City to train for his first space mission, the ANTARES mission. During his time in Russia, he also practiced flying BURAN simulators, which are like training versions of the Russian space shuttle.
Michel Tognini's first trip to space began on July 27, 1992. He launched aboard the Soyuz TM-15 spacecraft and returned to Earth on Soyuz TM-14 on August 10. He traveled with two other cosmonauts, Anatoly Solovyev and Sergei Avdeyev. They linked up with the Mir space station and joined the crew already there. They spent 14 days on Mir, doing many science experiments together.
Second Space Mission: STS-93
After his first mission, Michel Tognini continued his astronaut training at the Johnson Space Center in the United States. He worked on technical issues for the International Space Station and later worked with robotics. He also served as a CAPCOM in Mission Control, which means he was the main person talking to astronauts in space from Earth.
Michel Tognini's second spaceflight was on Space Shuttle Columbia during the STS-93 mission. This mission took place from July 22 to July 27, 1999. His main job on this five-day mission was to help deploy the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. This powerful telescope helps scientists study X-rays from space. He was also ready to do a spacewalk if it was needed.
Michel Tognini retired from being an active astronaut in May 2003. After that, he became the Head of the European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany. Now, he works in France, helping with human space exploration and giving talks to the public about his amazing experiences.
Awards and Honors
Michel Tognini has received many important awards for his service:
- Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite (Knight of the National Order of Merit)
- Commander de l'Ordre de la Légion d'Honneur (Commander of the Legion of Honor)
- Soviet Order of Friendship between the People
- Russian Order of Friendship between the People
