Centre national d'études spatiales
Logotype of CNES
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| Acronym | CNES |
|---|---|
| Owner |
 France
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| Established | 19 December 1961 |
| Headquarters | Paris, Île-de-France |
| Administrator | Jean-Yves Le Gall |
| Budget | €2.334 billion (2017) |
| Website | www.cnes.fr |
The Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES) (English: National Centre for Space Studies) is the French government space agency (administratively, a "public administration with industrial and commercial purpose"). Its headquarters are located in central Paris and it is under the supervision of the French Ministries of Defence and Research.
It operates from the Toulouse Space Center and Guiana Space Centre, but also has payloads launched from space centres operated by other countries. The president of CNES is Jean-Yves Le Gall. CNES is member of Institute of Space, its Applications and Technologies. CNES benefits from the second largest national budget allocated to space (2.334 billion € in 2017).
CNES was established under President Charles de Gaulle in 1961.
CNES was responsible for the training of French astronauts, until the last active CNES astronauts transferred to the European Space Agency in 2001.
As of January 2015[update], CNES is working with Germany and a few other governments to start a modest research effort with the hope to propose a LOX/methane reusable launch vehicle by mid-2015. If built, flight testing would likely not start before approximately 2026. The design objective is to reduce both the cost and duration of reusable vehicle refurbishment, and is partially motivated by the pressure of lower-cost competitive options with newer technological capabilities not found in the Ariane 6.
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