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Interview with Christophe
Bonnal, Specialist in launchers
Christophe Bonnal is no ordinary scientist!
A specialist in launchers, he is also an
expert on the subject of space debris and
is passionate about everything related to
outer space.
Listening to him is deeply inspiring and
likely to lead to a career in the conquest
of space.
IOONOS: Can you
tell us what your work involves ?
Christophe Bonnal: I work at the CNES (Centre
National d’Etudes Spatiales Français),
as Senior System Expert in the management
of launchers. Thanks to my experience and
the fact that I have a very broad perspective,
I have a slightly unusual position. My job
involves advising and making proposals;
for example, I make recommendations in order
to keep a project on course. I also have
a communication role with the outside world.
I travel to all the big European universities
and the French engineering schools to meet
students and present our activities. Some
of them may come and do courses at the CNES,
or be recruited at a later stage. Concerning
communication, I also act as advisor to
the media on the subjects of launchers and
space debris.
IOONOS: What has
been your career path ?
Christophe Bonnal: I left engineering school
in Lille in 1983 and since then my career
has been entirely devoted to launchers,
in industry or with space agencies, involving
the various stages in a launcher’s
life – from pilot studies to trials.
IOONOS: Tell us
about your early experience.
Christophe Bonnal: I began working for Aérospatiale
(now EADS Astrium) in 1984, initially on
Ariane IV. After three years I moved to
the Pilot Study Department, with the same
company. That was pure exploration: we had
to imagine what future launchers would involve,
design reusable launchers, and work on what
still seemed a strange craft, the ATV *,
developed for the ESA, and for which I was
project leader. It all seemed very theoretical
to me, and I then wanted to work on more
concrete projects and be closer to the reality
of a development so I could learn about
another side of the industry. So I participated
in the development of Ariane V in the industrial
architecture team, to improve my knowledge
of the trajectories, performances, etc.,
of a launcher that was already planned and
funded, rather than a project that still
had a long way to go in the pipeline.
IOONOS: When did
you join the French CNES agency ?
Christophe Bonnal: In 1992 I stayed in the
team in charge of Ariane V, but this time
moving to the other side of the programme.
At CNES I stopped being the supplier and
became the client. I was in charge of system
trials, so basically all the trials related
to general aspects of the launcher: shocks,
vibrations, aerodynamics… including
test flights and qualification launches.
(After two successful flights a launcher
is considered to be ready, or “qualified”,
and it is passed on to the production team).
When Ariane V qualified in 1998, I returned
to my first love, which was pilot studies,
which I directed for eight years at CNES.
And there, my experience made me more pragmatic.
In 2006 I went back to the technical side
as assistant to the technical branch, as
systems expert, with an overview and a more
general approach.
IOONOS: What might
launcher pilot studies for an agency involve
?
Christophe Bonnal: Oh, it’s huge,
going from the short to the long-term: from
the tiniest modification of Ariane V to
total science-fiction. We imagine lunar
launchers or launchers of nano satellites,
we work on launchers that are completely
reusable, or completely disposable. The
idea is to prepare credible projects, with
a team of fifteen people. To give you an
example, the Ariane 5 ECA* started from
a work session and a lot of blank sheets
of paper. And it was a little sketch of
a Shadock (a cartoon character) that gave
us the initial idea. After that, the number
of constraints is, of course, very large.
IOONOS: What can
one expect in a career in space travel ?
Christophe Bonnal: In Europe space travel
is a small world; there are about 5,000
of us working on launchers, and nearly everyone
knows everyone. We have been completely
immersed in Europe for a long time now.
Researchers, inventors and industrial production:
for us, Europe was a reality before most
of the Treaties were signed. This means
that English is essential: job interviews
and meetings are frequently held in English.
You also have to demonstrate extreme mobility:
be ready to change company or to work in
different departments and in different countries
for the same company.
IOONOS: What advice
would you give to young people today considering
a career in the space sector ?
Christophe Bonnal: To only join the profession
if you are really passionate about space!
You are bound to find an interesting job,
but be ready to put in a lot of hours, and
the pay isn’t always high. For people
entering the industry there is still a great
deal to do! Space has a huge amount to offer,
and many more dreams and inventions are
still to come. Today one could build an
entire career on future projects involving
Mars and its exploration.
IOONOS: Does space
still make you dream ?
Christophe Bonnal: I still have dreams about
everything, all aspects of space fascinate
me. The exploration of the Moon and Mars,
space tourism, the use of space to generate
electricity, the protection of the Earth
against asteroids, monitoring volcanoes
and earthquakes, etc. We have to continue
to create new space projects and to mobilize
the necessary public funds. You have to
remember the American conquest of space,
the whole country was excited, and every
kid wanted to be an astronaut…
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