SGAC France

National Points of Contact France

Welcome to the country page of SGAC France! The main objective is to reach and connect students and young professionals in order to inspire France’s next space generation.

France has been a major player in institutional and industrial space activities at the European and international level since the early space age. It is one of the key actors for the future of European space activities with its contribution to the European Space Agency and the top commercial launch provider of satellites with the Guiana Space Center.

The French space sector offers many opportunities for students and young professionals that SGAC brings to them: enabling to build your international space network, offering you leadership opportunities and giving you a voice (at the United Nations, at space agencies, at academic institutions and in industry) through our different activities and events.

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Our SGAC activities in France

The SGAC french community is one of the largest and most dynamic of all SGAC communities. We count approximately 300 members represented in more than 90 different organizations. We regularly meet in person through formal and informal events, or exchange online on different space topics. The SGAC french community is particularly invested in building the momentum for the Space Generation Congress and the International Astronautical Congress 2022 as these two global events will be held in Paris in September 2022!

SG[France]

Each year since 2019, we organize our SGAC local event in a different city. The idea is to provide our SGAC french community with opportunities to engage in dialogue about the current space issues, with other SGAC members as well as experts and key actors from the space sector.

The first SG[France] (SG[France]2019: Moon for @all) took place on June 16th and June 17th 2019 in Paris, and gathered 50 students and young professionals and 12 experts for a one-day workshop and a visit to the International Paris Air Show (Salon du Bourget). The event was focused on the Moon as 2019 marked the 50th anniversary of the first Human Moon landing. A total of 32 recommendations were produced on various topics related to: lunar in-situ resources exploitation, cohabitation of commercial and open-source projects on the surface on the Moon and the daily-life of future astronauts on the Moon (including arts and culture).

SG[France]2019 final report

The second SG[France] (SG[France]2020: Our Giant Leap) took place on September 26th 2020 in Toulouse. It gathered 44 students and young professionals from 10 different nationalities and 8 experts, to learn more about gender equality in the aerospace sector and to propose solutions to existing issues addressed through three round table topics: discrimination, mentorship strategies and space research. A total of 71 recommendations were elaborated during the day and synthesized in the final report. SG[France]2020 has been the first SGAC on-site event since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the event, the Our Giant Leap team has been recruiting new members and has been working on implementing the delegates recommendations through concrete and long-term SGAC projects. In July 2021 (2 years after the beginning of its first activities), Our Giant Leap became the 11th SGAC Project Group on Diversity and Gender Equality.

SG[France]2020 final report
SG[France]2020 event presentation and out

The third SG[France] (SG[France]2021: When Space Comes to You) took place on July 3rd 2021 in Lille, in conjunction with the Summer Space Festival. It gathered 63 students and young professionals out of the 90 participants in total to discuss how the space sector could benefit our lives on Earth. SG[France]2021 has been the first SGAC on-site event of 2021 and the second SGAC on-site event since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the first one being SG[France]2020.

Stay tuned for SG[France]2021 final report

Newsletters

We have launched a local newsletter in order to share the latest news and opportunities of interest for the french SGAC community. SGAC members are encouraged to actively contribute in its writing by submitting articles on space-related topics to the 2 french NPoCs. The newsletters for January 2020, April 2020 and October 2020 (in French) can be downloaded below. Stay tuned for the next edition!

SGAC french newsletter – January 2020

SGAC french newsletter – April 2020

SGAC french newsletter – October 2020

Webinars

We organize webinars regularly in order to present SGAC, its objectives and the opportunities to get more involved in the organization and our activities in France. You can join our french mailing list or check the SGAC event calendar to be informed of the next one.

We are also supporting the SGAC french community in organizing webinars or online events to present an organization, an event or a project, or to exchange on a space-related topic through a panel discussion. If you are interested, feel free to reach out to contact the 2 NPoCs!

Informal events

Finally, we regularly meet in France through informal events. Our french community is particularly active in Paris and Toulouse, but we also have SGAC members in Lille, Strasbourg, Bordeaux, Cannes, Nantes, Lyon… therefore feel free to join our next informal meeting!

SGAC-partnered events in France

We are supporting the organization of space-related events in France. We can help you spread out the words about your activities through our mailing list, newsletter, webinars, SGAC website and social media, or support you in finding partners, sponsors, speakers and experts. Reach out to the 2 french NPoCs to know more!

Young Space Activities Overview in France

France offers plenty of opportunities for the next generation. The two main geographical areas for the space industry in France are Toulouse and the Paris area. Both regions have high-level universities, a space museum (Cité de l’Espace and Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace) and host alternatively international conferences (Toulouse Space Show and the Paris Air Show). The Paris area mainly gathers industries in the sector of space transportation and Toulouse mainly gathers orbital systems industries. There are other regions highly involved in the space industry, namely Bordeaux (with for example Novespace) and Cannes (with for example Thales Alenia Space). There are also plenty of opportunities for students to grow their knowledge by participating for example to the PERSEUS (Projet Etudiant de Recherche Spatiale) Program from CNES or attend the Ariane City Network Summer School. Check out the event calendar for 2020! In addition, since France is a member state of the European Space Agency, any French student is entitled to participate in any program organised at ESA, as well as to attend any program from any EU member state countries.

Country-Specific Events in 2021 and 2022

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