Patrick Baudry

History making former astronaut and French retired Air Force pilot, Patrick Baudry has enjoyed an out of this world career. From operational tours in the forces to conducting research in Earth’s orbit, Baudry’s life story is nothing short of remarkable, and beyond the thrills, adventure and excitement he developed a number of desirable skills. Transferring lessons learnt above ground into valuable qualities in the workplace, Baudry’s experience of risk management, leadership and adaptability can influence the success of his audiences as an after dinner speaker.

Making history as only the second French citizen to go to space, in 1985 as a payload specialist on tht STS-51-G Discovery. Responsible for the research projects whilst on board, Baudry has trained for five years prior at the National Centre for Space Studies, working alongside research organisations to prepare for conducting activities in space. Throughout his impressive time as an astronaut, Baudry became revered for his expertise in decision analysis, materials processing and astronomy experiments. On the Discovery mission, Baudry accumulated over one hundred and sixty nine hours in space, an elite experience for an accomplished astronaut.

A natural born adrenaline seeker, Baudry found his passion for flight as a fighter pilot for France, receiving his honorary wings in 1970. Completing a number of operations across Africa in the F100 and Jaguar planes, being awarded the Patuxent Trophy for completing Empire Test Pilots’ School and testing attack aircrafts at the Flight Test Centre in France were some of the highlights of Baudry’s thrilling army career. With experience of flying over one hundred types of aircraft, and a cumulative four thousand flying hours, Baudry is an authority on aviation, a career with no bounds.

Since disembarking from Discovery, Baudry has operated as an advisor and test pilot on airbuses and the European space plan; Hermes. Utilising his platform, Baudry founded the European Space Training Centre in Cannes, the first of its kind, with the purpose to prepare other astronauts for their time in space. For his services to France, Baudry was awarded the highest honour, Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, solidifying his contributions to the country as a remarkable achievement. Currently, Baudry is most in demand as an inspirational after dinner speaker, with a truly exceptional career in space and sky his stories have to be heard first hand to be believed.