Jean-François Clervoy, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut from France and brigadier general from DGA (Defense procurement agency), was born in Longeville-lès-Metz on November 19th 1958. He graduated from Ecole Polytechnique, Paris in 1981, from Ecole Nationale Supérieure de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace, Toulouse in 1983 and from Flight Test School, Istres in 1987. Seconded from the DGA, Clervoy was selected as an astronaut in 1985 by the French space agency CNES and then in 1992 by the European space agency ESA.
He served as a mission specialist twice aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-66 to study the atmosphere, and on mission STS-84 to re-supply the Russian space station Mir, and as a flight engineer aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-103 to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. He has logged 28 days and 3 hours in 439 earth orbits.
Since 2001 JFC has been working as senior advisor astronaut for the ESA human space flight programs including the Jules Verne project to re-supply the International Space Station. Still active in the European astronaut corps, he works also as Chairman of Novespace, a company which organizes parabolic flights with its airbus ZERO-G for microgravity research and for public weightlessness discovery flights.
JFC holds qualifications as a private pilot, skydiver and scuba diver. He is member of several organizations for the promotion of space exploration and for the preservation of planet Earth.
JFC was awarded three NASA Space Flight Medals, two NASA Exceptional Service Medals, Medal of Aeronautics, Officer in the national order of the Legion of Honnor, Knight in the national order of Merit , Komarov and Koroliev Awards from the International Aeronautic Federation.
JFC is author and co-author of several books related to space flight and space tourism. He filed an international patent for the time functions of the wrist watch ‘Speedmaster Skywalker X-33’ produced by Omega, tested and qualified by ESA, and currently used by the ISS crews.