On September 15 2010 students in the class of 2012 met their sponsor, the famous astronaut, Jean-Loup Chrétien. He gave them a preview showing of the film he has made, describing his extraordinary career. The film is based on twenty years of archive documents covering his exceptional career path from his training at Star City in the former USSR in 1980 to his participation in the International Space Station (ISS) programme.

A French citizen, naturalized American, hero of the Soviet Union, Jean-Loup Chrétien is a citizen of the world, we could even say of the universe

Welcomed by Paul Friedel, director of Télécom-Bretagne, Jean-Loup Chrétien presented his film "Brève histoire d'un rêve d'enfant "

The sole limit is the infinite

Jean-Loup Chrétien does not believe that our sidereal voyage can be hindered by physical or physiological constraints. In his view, limits are destined to be constantly pushed back. And it is out of the question that space discovery should be reserved to robots. « It is in Man’s nature to always go further than what is perceived. »

His space travels have led Jean-Loup Chrétien to question the nature of our universe and the meaning of our presence there. He finds it difficult to believe that the cosmos is merely a random coincidence.

« If the whole universe were to be fitted into one year, our planet Earth would only be the last second of the last day of that year. Nobody is able to say whether that second will be followed by others or whether it is the final one.
The idea of a stable world does not exist: we are in constant movement. If our populations and our needs continue to increase, we shall have to colonise other planets. If we decrease, we will disappear eventually. »

Career now dedicated to the aeronautics industry

In answer to a student who asked whether he would be willing to return to space if given the opportunity, Jean-Loup Chrétien responded without hesitation that it would be his dearest wish, as would be the case for all those who had been lucky and privileged enough to spend time in space.

But for the time being, Jean-Loup Chrétien is dedicated exclusively to his new career in research. He now lives in Houston (Texas) where he is director of the research field of Tietronix which develops innovative engineering systems for the aeronautics industry. The company works more specifically with the NASA but also develops partnerships with the education sector for the creation of pedagogic software.

Intelligence, courage, international commitment and artistic awareness: the career path of Jean-Loup Chrétien is an example and a source of inspiration for all the engineering students at Télécom-Bretagne, some of whom seized the opportunity of a souvenir photograph taken at his side.