Patrick Baudry

After five years in advanced mathematics, Patrick BAUDRY received a Master's degree in aeronautical engineering from the French Air Force Academy of Salon de Provence.
He was awarded his fighter pilot wings in 1970 and spent the next seven years on squadron duties, flying F 100 and Jaguar strike fighters ; he was assigned to different Air Force bases in France and performed many temporary assignments in Africa.
In 1978, he applied for a position as a student test pilot and was sent to the Empire Test Pilot School, Boscombe Down, England. One year later, he was graduated, receiving the Patuxent Trophy awarded to the best foreign student.

He has flown over 14,000 hours (11,000 hours aboard jet planes) logged on 350 different fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft types including 30 combat type (among which Mirage III, Jaguar, Mirage 2000, F15, Mig 29 and Sukhoi 27). Patrick Baudry has also Airline and Helicopter Professional pilot licences.

When in 1980 CNES (French Space Agency) opened the recruiting process for the Interkosmos - CNES orbital mission planned for 1982, he applied for a cosmonaut position. He was selected from a pool of 2000 candidates and spent the next two years at the Star City, near Moscow, undergoing the standard training process given to Soviet cosmonauts. He was qualified as cosmonaut-engineer on the Soyuz-T spacecraft /Saliut 7 Space Station Complex. He participated in the first French-Soviet space flight as back-up crew member. His duties were to perform experiments, including physiological, biological and astronomical research.

On 23rd March, 1984, the first French-American space flight was decided, and Patrick BAUDRY joined the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas.
After one year of training, he was assigned to the Mission 51-E and then to the Mission 51-G. The launch took place on 17th June, 1985, from Cap Canaveral, at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The main objective of the mission, was to deliver three satellites in orbit. Patrick BAUDRY had the responsibility of a scientific and medical program for French and American research laboratories.

On 1st March 1986, Patrick BAUDRY was appointed to become Advisor of the Chairman of Aerospatiale Company. He was the Test Pilot for the European space plane Hermes, for which Aerospatiale was industrial prime contractor.

From 1993 to 2003, Patrick BAUDRY was advisor for manned space flights at EADS, and SeniorTest Pilot for Airbus Industrie. He was in charge of flight presentations of Airbus prototypes in all international airshows as Le Bourget (France), Farnborough (Great Britain), MAKS (Joukovski-Russia), Santiago de Chile, Acapulco (Mexico), Dubaï, Djakarta (Indonesia), etc

Patrick BAUDRY founded in July, 1989, in Cannes-Mandelieu, the first European Space Camp, Space Training Center for the preparation for life in space. In 1990, he founded ACADIS High School.

He is a consultant, expert in Space activities and aeronautics, and a lecturer .

He is a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, a Board Member of the Foundation for Olympic Truce (C.I.O) and a Board Member of the AVU (African Virtual University) , Officier de la Légion d'Honneur, Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite, and holds the Médaille de l'Aéronautique. He is Member of the Soviet Order for Friendship among people, Member of the Gagarine Soviet Order, Abdulaziz Medal (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and is Officier de l'Ordre du Mono (TOGO). Patrick BAUDRY was also awarded the American Space Flight Medal and Lindberg Trophy (USA). He is a member of several Academies, including the Association for European Astronauts, the National Air and Space Academy, the International Academy of Astronautics and the Association of Space Explorers.

He wrote a number of books, about space activities, technics, and humanism: Spatiale première Editions Plon 1982, Aujourd'hui le soleil se lève 16 fois, Editions Carrère Lafon 1985, Ariane (with Jacques Villain), Editions Flammarion 1986, L'Espace Habité, Edition Atlas 1988, Douze hommes sur la lune, Editions Atlas 1989, Collection "Pilotes de ..." Editions Atlas 1990, L'Espace Habité Soviétique, Editions Atlas 1991, Sur les traces de l'Aéropostale, Editions Tallandier 1999, Le rêve spatial inachevé, de Gagarine au voyageur universel, Editions Tallandier 2001, Le rêve et l'Espace, Editions du Chêne 2002. Conquête spatiale : la déroute, Editions Michel Lafon 2003. Trois hommes dans l'Espace, Editions Elytis 2007. Carnet d'un voyage spatial, Editions Elytis - 2008