Although he has been to space twice, he is now back at school!
After studying aeronautical engineering at ISAE-SUPAERO in Toulouse (Haute-Garonne), astronaut Thomas Pesquet has been training at Airbus since Thursday February 29 to be recertified to fly on the A350.
A seasoned pilot, he let his type rating expire on his last space mission.
“The Best Training for Spaceflight”
"It's quite simply the best cockpit I've ever sat in, and I've seen quite a few now, I teleport every chance I get to pilot this brilliant machine - or even just the simulation!, indicates Thomas Pesquet on the X network (formerly Twitter).
The reason I continue to dedicate some of my time and a lot of extra effort to keeping my pilot licenses current is because I believe that flying a multi-crew aircraft is the best possible training for spaceflight.
» The Airbus training center, located in Blagnac, trains pilots, mechanics, hostesses and stewards.
Also read: Thomas Pesquet: “In Europe, no one has a better chance than me of going to the Moon”
The presence of the astronaut in the Pink City caused a lot of reaction on social networks, in particular employees of Airbus and the aeronautics sector who dream of meeting him.
“Don’t hesitate to join #Safran, which works for low-carbon aviation, as soon as your space adventure is over.
In the meantime, thank you for sharing.
Always a real pleasure to read about your adventures,” writes a Safran group manager.
Geneviève, who works at the Icam engineering school in Toulouse, extends this invitation to him: “Come and say hello to us at the Icam general engineering school!
We are located right next to Airbus.
It would be an honor!
»
Aside from his activities as an astronaut, Thomas Pesquet has always continued to fly as a pilot, notably with Novespace on the A310 and within Airbus flight tests on the A320 and A350 since 2018. “My days at Air France and my flights today at Novespace or the Airbus flight test center helped me a lot to succeed with the ESA (European Space Agency - ESA) and I still have a lot to learn from these companies and all the people who make them what they are,” insists the astronaut.