Jean-Marie Luton (4 August 1942 - 16 April 2020) was a French

aerospace engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is si ...

who was the Director General of the

European Space Agency , owners = , headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France , coordinates = , spaceport = Guiana Space Centre , seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png , seal_size = 130px , image = Views in the Main Control Room (1205 ...

from 1990 to 1997. He also served in French space agency

CNES The (CNES; French: ''Centre national d'études spatiales'') is the French government space agency (administratively, a "public administration with industrial and commercial purpose"). Its headquarters are located in central Paris and it is und ...

and as the head of the aerospace arm of

Aérospatiale Aérospatiale (), sometimes styled Aerospatiale, was a French state-owned aerospace manufacturer that built both civilian and military aircraft, rockets and satellites. It was originally known as Société nationale industrielle aérospatiale ( ...

. He was the Chairman and CEO of

Arianespace Arianespace SA is a French company founded in 1980 as the world's first commercial launch service provider. It undertakes the operation and marketing of the Ariane programme. The company offers a number of different launch vehicles: the heavy ...

from 1997 to 2002. He was a member of the

International Academy of Astronautics The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) is an independent non-governmental organization established in Stockholm ( Sweden) on August 16, 1960, by Dr. Theodore von Kármán, and recognized by the United Nations in 1996. The IAA has electe ...

(IAA) and the

Association Aéronautique et Astronautique de France Association Aéronautique et Astronautique de France (3AF or AAAF) is the French national aeronautical and astronautical association. It is located in Paris. It has been created in 1971 from the ''Association Française des Ingénieurs et Technic ...

(AAAF). He retired in 2007. Luton was awarded the title of Officer of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

and Commander of the

Ordre national du Mérite The Ordre national du Mérite (; en, National Order of Merit) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's esta ...

. In 1985, he received the Astronautics Prize by the

Sources

Jean-Marie Luton

Jean-Marie Luton, 1942-2020

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luton, Jean-Marie 1942 births 2020 deaths People from Chamalières French aerospace engineers European Space Agency personnel