Philippe Perrin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1963-01-06)6 January 1963 (age 62) |
| Status | Retired |
| Occupation | Pilot |
| Space career | |
| CNES/ESA astronaut | |
| Rank | Colonel,French Air Force |
Time in space | 13d 20h 35m |
| Selection | 1990 CNES Group 3,1999 ESA Group |
| Missions | STS-111 |
Mission insignia |  |
Philippe Perrin (Colonel,French Air Force) (born January 6, 1963) is a Frenchtest pilot,engineer and formerCNES andEuropean Space Agencyastronaut. He served as mission specialist on theSTS-111 mission where he conducted three spacewalks attaching new hardware to theInternational Space Station and replacing a wrist joint on theCanadarm2.
Perrin was born 6 January 1963, inMeknes,Morocco, but considersAvignon,Provence, to be his hometown. He entered theÉcole polytechnique in 1982 and graduated in 1985. Perrin then received hisTest PilotLicence in 1993 from theÉcole du personnel navigant d'essais et de réception (EPNER), the French Test Pilot School atIstres Air Force Base and received his Air LinePilot Certificate in 1995.[1]
Prior to graduating from the École polytechnique, Perrin completedmilitary duty in theFrench Navy, where he was trained inship piloting andnavigation, and spent six months at sea in theIndian Ocean. Following École polytechnique, he entered the French Air Force in 1985, was awarded his pilot's wings in 1986, and was assigned to the 33rdReconnaissance Wing atStrasbourg Air Force Base (1987–1991). He flew theMirage F1CR and made detachments inAfrica andSaudi Arabia.[1]
Perrin has flown 26combat missions and has logged over 2,500 flying hours in over 30 types (fromjet fighters toAirbus).[1]
Upon graduating fromEPNER, the French Test Pilot School, he worked on a variety of test programs while assigned to the Bretigny Test Center. In 1992, he was temporarily detached to the French Space Agency (CNES) and sent toStar City, Russia, where he trained for two months. In 1993, he reported to the 2nd Air Defense Wing ofDijon Air Force Base as Senior Operations Officer (Operation Southern Watch). In 1995, he returned to the Bretigny Test Center, as Chief Pilot Deputy, in charge of the development of theMirage 2000-5.
In July 1996,CNES announced his selection as an astronaut candidate and assigned him to attendNASA’s Astronaut Candidate Training inHouston, Texas.
Perrin reported to theJohnson Space Center in August 1996. Having completed two years of training and evaluation, he qualified for flight assignments as a mission specialist. Perrin was initially assigned technical duties in the Astronaut OfficeSpacecraft Systems/Operations Branch.
He served as a mission specialist on theSTS-111 mission in 2002 and logged over 332 hours in space, including 19 hours and 31 minutes in threespacewalks, performed withFranklin Chang-Diaz.
After his flight, Perrin returned to France to work as support astronaut on theAutomated Transfer Vehicle program. December 2002 he was transferred from CNES to the European Space Agency's astronaut corps.[1]
He did not fly in space with ESA and left theEuropean Astronaut Corps in 2004. He is currently working as a test pilot forAirbus.
STS-111Endeavour (5–19 June 2002). The STS-111 mission delivered a newISS resident crew and a Canadian-built mobile base for theorbiting outpost’srobotic arm. The crew also performed late-notice repair of the station’s robot arm by replacing one of the arm’s joints. It was the secondSpace Shuttle mission dedicated to delivering research equipment to the space platform. Perrin performed threeEVAs (spacewalks) withFranklin Chang-Diaz. STS-111 also brought home theExpedition 4 crew from their6+1⁄2-month stay aboard the station. Mission duration was 13 days, 20 hours and 35 minutes. Unacceptableweather conditions inFlorida necessitated a landing atEdwards Air Force Base,California.[2]
Perrin is the only French astronaut to have received the Légion d'Honneur before flying in space as he becamechevalier due to his actions while he was a military pilot. He was then elevated to theofficier class after his space mission.
NASA Astronaut Group 15 ← NASA Astronaut Group 16 →NASA Astronaut Group 17 | |||||||
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| Mission specialists |
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| International mission specialists |
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