French astronaut Sophie Adeno will go into orbit to join the International Space Station in the spring of 2026

The European Space Agency (ESA) announced on Wednesday, May 22, that French astronaut Sophie Adeno will be the first of the 2022 European astronaut class to travel to the International Space Station in the spring of 2026. Sophie Adeno, the helicopter pilot, will thus become the second French astronaut in history. Entering orbit, thirty years after Claudie Hennery. “Happy for her and proud of France”President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron commented, On the social network.

Engineer Sophie Adino, a graduate of the Higher Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, with the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Air Force, was the first female helicopter test pilot, with 3,000 flight hours on her watch. The Class of 2022, whose members were chosen from among approximately 23,000 candidates, succeeds the Class of 2009 which, together with Thomas Pesquet, aroused real enthusiasm for space adventure among European youth.