Jacques Durand, 1939-2022

Born in Neuilly sur Seine, France, on 10 February 1939, he obtained his Master of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from Supaero in 1962.

In May 1964, he joined Elecma, the electronic division of Snecma (now Safran) in Suresnes, France, where he participated in the development of the air intake control of the Concorde supersonic aircraft.

From 1969 to 1974 in Velizy, France, he contributed for Matra Espace to the definition of the Aerosat navigation satellite system, a collaborative project between Europe, the United States and Canada.

He joined ESA in 1975 where he worked at ESTEC in Noordwijk, The Netherlands, leading the programme until 1979. Following the discontinuation of Aerosat, he was entrusted with the European Communication Satellite (ECS) Programme, that he headed until 1989 (see history of Aerosat).

He then moved to ESA Headquarters, where he was appointed Head of the Ariane 5 Development Programme, until his retirement in 2004. The Ariane Department was led at that time by Mr Raymond Orye.

Mr Durand significantly contributed to the enlargement of ESA’s portfolio to include application satellites and to maintain Europe’s independent access to space, through the Ariane 5 heavy-lift launch vehicle operated by Arianespace for ESA, from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, despite some initial setbacks including the infamous maiden flight.

A member of the French Aeronautical and Astronautical Association, the Air and Space Academy and the International Academy of Astronautics, he was a pillar of the international aerospace engineering community, as well as a member of the Lions Clubs International.

In recognition of his major contribution to the Ariane programme and distinguished service to France, he was conferred the rank of Knight in the French National Order of Merit.

Passionate about theatre, he was actively involved in the ‘Groupe d’Expression Scénique et Théâtrale de l’ESTEC’ founded by his former colleague Claude Minier, with whom he performed various roles in different plays.

Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and former colleagues. Jacques’s wife France Durand-de Jongh gathered in the late nineties testimonies from prominent space pioneers and wrote a book out of them, entitled De la fusée Véronique au lanceur Ariane : une histoire d'hommes – 1945-1979, published by Stock in 1998. Many of Jacques’s achievements are documented there.

He will be remembered by his colleagues for his outstanding managerial experience and engineering skills, as well as for his kindness, dedication and fine sense of humour.