Jean-Jacques Favier (Born April 13, 1949) was a French engineer and CNES astronaut who flew aboard the STS-78 NASA Space Shuttle mission. Favier was due to fly aboard the Columbia mission in 2003, but later signed out of the mission. Jean-Jacques Favier has been Deputy Director for Space Technology and Deputy Director for Advanced Concepts and Strategy at CNES, Director of the Solidification Laboratory at the French Atomic Energy Commission and Research Program Director at the International Space University.
STS-78 was the fifth dedicated Life and Microgravity Spacelab mission for the Space Shuttle program, flown partly in preparation for the International Space Station project. The mission used the Space Shuttle Columbia, which lifted off successfully from Kennedy Space Center’s launch pad 39-B on 20 June 1996.
Low Earth OrbitThe National Center of Space Research, or CNES, is a French National Agency in charge of France's space program. In partnership with the US and Russia, they have put 10 people in space. CNES works in tandem with the larger ESA to develop the Ariane 5 and work on other probes and satellites. They are working with Germany to develop a cheaper and more efficient reusable rocket, which hopefully will be ready to fly by 2026.