Sophie Adenot Becomes France's Second Woman in Space

Sophie Adenot blasted off from Cape Canaveral on Friday, launching from the same Florida launchpad she once admired in bedroom posters as a teenager. The 43-year-old French helicopter test pilot became only the second French woman ever to reach space, fulfilling a dream three decades in the making.

Adenot's space journey began in 1996 when she watched France's first woman astronaut, Claudie Haignere, launch toward the Mir space station. "I was 14 years old and it was a revelation," Adenot said at a recent press conference. "At that moment, I told myself: one day, that will be me."

The path to the stars required serious persistence. Adenot first applied to become a European Space Agency astronaut in 2008 at age 25 but was rejected. She kept pushing forward, working as a helicopter pilot with 3,000 flight hours and 120 combat missions in Afghanistan, specializing in search and rescue operations.

In 2018, she became France's first woman helicopter test pilot. Four years later, she tried again for the astronaut program and was selected from 22,000 candidates.

Adenot is now heading to the International Space Station with three other astronauts aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. They're scheduled to arrive Saturday and will spend the next eight months conducting over 200 scientific experiments 250 miles above Earth.

Her research will include studying how microgravity affects human memory and testing an AI system that helps astronauts perform their own medical ultrasounds. The experiments could help future space travelers stay healthier on longer missions to the Moon or Mars.

Why This Inspires

Adenot credits her grandfather, a French air force mechanic, for teaching her to love taking things apart and fixing them. That hands-on curiosity, combined with her military cool under pressure and artistic sensitivity, makes her uniquely suited for life in space.

Belgian astronaut Raphael Liegeois, who trained alongside Adenot, felt "raw emotion" watching her launch. Despite her military background that keeps her calm in any situation, she also posted a beautiful poem on Instagram this week about her upcoming journey.

Life aboard the space station won't be all work. French chef Anne-Sophie Pic, who holds 10 Michelin stars, prepared special meals including lobster bisque and foie gras for Adenot to enjoy on her 44th birthday in July. She's also bringing recorded sounds of birds singing, footsteps in snow, and flowing streams to remind her of home.

The teenager who once cut space photos from magazines and stuck them above her desk is now looking down at Earth from the window of humanity's orbiting laboratory.