Michel Tognini

Michel Ange-Charles Tognini (born September 30, 1949 in Vincennes, France) is a French test pilot, Brigadier General in the French Air Force, and a former CNES and ESA astronaut who serves from 01.01.2005 to 01.11.2011 as Head of the European Astronaut Centre of the European Space Agency. A veteran of two space flights, Tognini has logged a total of 19 days in space. Tognini has 4000 flight hours on 80 types of aircraft (mainly fighter aircraft including the MiG-25, Tupolev 154, Lightning MK-3 and MK-5, Gloster Meteor, and F-104). He is fluent in English and Russian.

Biography

Following graduation in 1973 from the Ecole de l'Air (the French Air Force Academy), Tognini was posted to advanced fighter pilot training at a squadron based at Normandie-Niemen where he served for one year before obtaining his advanced fighter pilot training. From 1974–1981, he served in the French Air Force as an operational fighter pilot (Cambrai Air Base), at the 12th Escadre de Chasse, flying SMB2 and Mirage F1 aircraft. During this tour of duty he served as flight leader in 1976, and flight commander in 1979.