Renewal of the “Space: sciences and challenges of the space sector” Chair
Renewal of the “Space: sciences and challenges of the space sector” Chair on December 17, 2024. / Photo: Jérémy Barande
The École Polytechnique and the Fondation de l’École Polytechnique, have renewed the Academic Chair titled “Space: sciences and challenges of the space sector” with the support of ArianeGroup and Safran. The renewal was announced at a ceremony on December 17 by Kees Van der Beek, Director of Research at the École Polytechnique and Vice-President Research at the Institut Polytechnique de Paris; Hervé Gilibert, Chief Technical Officer of ArianeGroup; Jean-Marie Bétermier, Executive Vice-President of Safran Electronics & Defense’s Space Global Business Unit; and Jean-Paul Cottet, General Delegate of Fondation de l’École Polytechnique.
Headed by Pascal Chabert, CNRS Research Director at the Plasma Physics Laboratory (LPP*) and Professor at École Polytechnique, the Chair in “Space: sciences and challenges of the space sector” has been supported by ArianeGroup since its inception in 2019 and by Safran since 2024.
This Chair supports a comprehensive and ambitious university-level program combining theoretical lectures and practical industry-focused projects. To achieve this, it draws on the energy and enthusiasm of the engineering students at École Polytechnique’s Student Space Center (CSEP), the academic excellence of École Polytechnique and its laboratories, and the industrial expertise of the two industry sponsors. The Chair combines academic excellence with the contribution of industry leaders to tackle the technological challenges ahead in space, with a focus on the broader goals of knowledge, connectivity, climate and sovereignty.
The program is designed to support the two final years of the engineering track at École Polytechnique and offers hands-on, group-based science projects in the second year and an in-depth specialization in the third year, which is also open to students from the ENSTA Paris engineering school. The third year includes intensive lectures, supervised space-related projects and a choice of complementary modules and is specifically aimed at students interested in careers in the space sector.
The purpose of the Chair is to train tomorrow’s experts with the versatile, wide-ranging knowledge and skills to meet the challenges of space and adapt to the changing needs of the sector.
Pascal Chabert, head of the Chair, commented: “This teaching Chair was created in 2019 with the support of Thales Alenia Space and ArianeGroup. And it is now continuing with the support of Safran, with whom we have set up the COMHET laboratory for plasma space propulsion. The Chair has enabled us to raise the profile of space at École Polytechnique and more broadly at Institut Polytechnique de Paris, which is now an active member of the Paris-Île-de-France Space Academy. It has helped spur the tremendous development of École Polytechnique’s Student Space Center, which offers students a unique framework for ambitious space projects, such as the IonSat mission, a 6U CubeSat scheduled to launch into low-Earth orbit in late 2026.”
Space: a professional field that inspires our students
Ahead of the inauguration of the new Chair, PA Sciences et Défis du Spatial (SDS) and CSEP students had the opportunity to talk with corporate sponsors on November 27, 2024, in the presence of Cédric Renault (X96), François Jacquemart (X04), and Charles-Eric Leclercq from ArianeGroup, as well as Nathalie Pearon, Noël Barreau, and Adrien Villaret (X19) from Safran Data Systems.
The meeting took place on the day of the X-forum, the business forum, and included a visit to the Patrons' stands. Finally, students from the École Polytechnique's Centre Spatial Étudiant (CSEP) were given the opportunity to present their projects in poster form.
A delegation of students was also able to visit ArianeGroup's Les Mureaux site on December 2, 2024, during company visits to find out more about the teams and associated professions.
*LPP: a joint research unit CNRS, Observatoire de Paris-PSL, Sorbonne Université, Université Paris-Saclay, École Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, 91120 Palaiseau, France
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