A Chair to train tomorrow's space experts

Since 2019, the Chair in Space Science and Challenges has been held by Pascal Chabert, Director of Research at the CNRS within the Plasma Physics Laboratory (LPP*) and professor at École Polytechnique, and supported by prestigious sponsors, ArianeGroup since 2019 and Safran since 2024.

The Chair affirms École Polytechnique's strong commitment to training future space talent with a clear objective: to offer engineering students a high-level education based on a solid academic foundation as well as concrete projects in partnership with industry.

The Chair combines:

• challenging scientific courses in physics, mechanics and modelling, in conjunction with various École Polytechnique laboratories;

• teaching through space projects led by the École Polytechnique Student Space Centre (CSEP), thanks to the support of industrial sponsors, directed by Nicolas Lequette (X2016).

Thus, from the second year of the engineering programme onwards, students can get involved in the design of projects in a variety of fields, and in the third year, through an Advanced Course (PA), they can participate in the development of concrete space devices, such as the future IonSat satellite, a 6U CubeSat, which is scheduled to be launched into low orbit in 2027.

The CSEP thus offers students the opportunity to work in the spirit of a real space mission. This educational framework enables them to acquire solid, versatile skills that are also highly sought-after in the aerospace industry in the areas of sovereignty, innovation, knowledge and the environment. 

The Chair is not limited to academic teaching: it builds concrete bridges with industry. On 17 November, it organised a day of visits to two iconic sites in the sector: ArianeGroup and Safran in Vernon. These visits gave students on the Advanced Space Science and Challenges course a close-up look at the facilities where key space propulsion technologies are designed and tested, from European launch vehicle engines to satellite propulsion systems. This immersion in two major players in the European space industry gave the Polytechnique students a concrete understanding of current technological challenges, while giving them the opportunity to talk to the engineers and managers present on site.

A few days later, on 26 November, this momentum continued during the Chair's Education Sponsorship Day, organised at the X-Novation Centre in synergy with the X-Forum. Introduced by Pascal Chabert, the meeting brought together ArianeGroup, Safran and students for company presentations, a testimonial from Benoît Saint-Georges (X2018, MaiaSpace), a discussion with the sponsors' HR teams, and a cocktail reception highlighting the CSEP's projects. 

The career path of Benoît Saint-Georges, a graduate of the École Polytechnique who completed the Advanced Course in Space Science and Challenges and went on to become an engineer at a pioneering company in the field of reusable micro-launchers, is a concrete illustration of the professional opportunities opened up by the Chair. His testimony shows students that the training received at École Polytechnique, enriched by the projects and industrial immersions offered, can lead to entrepreneurial innovation as well as to established major players in the space industry. These two complementary events perfectly illustrate the Chair's mission: to create direct bridges between education, innovation and industry, and to open up a variety of career paths for the talented individuals who will shape the space industry of tomorrow.
 

With initiatives such as those of the CSEP, structured and recognised teaching, and strong links with industry, the Chair embodies École Polytechnique's vision for the aerospace industry of tomorrow, not only as a technical field, but as a collective and strategic project, training experts committed to serving society.

*LPP: a joint research unit of the CNRS, Paris Observatory-PSL, Sorbonne University, Paris-Saclay University, École Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, 91120 Palaiseau, France