Claude Poher Born in 1935, in Brittany

Brittany

Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, parent of Alain Poher

Alain Poher

Alain Émile Louis Marie Poher was a French centrist politician, affiliated first with the Popular Republican Movement and later with the Democratic Centre. He served as a Senator for Val-de-Marne from 1946 to 1995. He was President of the Senate from 3 October 1968 to 1 October 1992 and, in that...

 who was President of the French Senate

French Senate

The Senate is the upper house of the Parliament of France, presided over by a president.The Senate enjoys less prominence than the lower house, the directly elected National Assembly; debates in the Senate tend to be less tense and generally enjoy less media coverage.-History:France's first...

 for a quarter century.

Engineer in space research. Engineer in electronics. PhD in astronomy-astrophysics.

33 years of scientific career in space research at Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), the French NASA

NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

.

Successively responsible of several services in this space research public establishment: — Research programs in space astronomy, — Research programs in space robotics, — Research programs in space sounding rocket

Sounding rocket

A sounding rocket, sometimes called a research rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The origin of the term comes from nautical vocabulary, where to sound is to throw a weighted line from a ship into...

s, — long-term research programs in advanced space technology,

Claude Poher has also directed several space research programs conducted in international cooperation, including lunar exploration, the space station

Space station

A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew which is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to which other spacecraft can dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by its lack of major propulsion or landing...

s, and exploration of planets. He was in charge of the French national studies for application of the nuclear energy

Nuclear power

Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...

 to future civilian space missions

Space exploration

Space exploration is the use of space technology to explore outer space. Physical exploration of space is conducted both by human spaceflights and by robotic spacecraft....

. Poher was also chairman of numerous sessions of international congresses about astronautics, in the domain of astronomical research, advanced missions studies, and interstellar missions. Poher is a private pilot

Private Pilot

A private pilot is the holder of a Private Pilot License. They are able to fly to almost anywhere in the world, but are limited in the type of aircraft that they can fly...

 with 45 years experience.

He created and directed, in CNES, in 1977/1978, the Groupe d’Etude des Phénomènes Aérospatiaux Non identifiés, official French service dedicated to the analysis of the UFO observation reports from the population. This service still exists 27 years later - being the only official service of this type in the world.

The space activities of Claude Poher have been rewarded by: The National Order of Merit; The AAAF astronautical prize; The CNES medal. Claude Poher is a member of the International Academy of Astronautics

International Academy of Astronautics

The International Academy of Astronautics is an international community of experts committed to expanding the frontiers of space. It is a non-governmental organisation established in Stockholm on August 16, 1960....

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