Career

Brachet earned an engineering degree from the Ecole Nationale Superieure d'Aeronautique in 1967 and a MS in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the University of Washington

University of Washington

University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...

 in 1968. He began his professional career at the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) in France, and from 1972 to 1982 was successively Head of the Orbit Determination and Spacecraft Dynamics Department, the Scientific Programs Division and the Application Programs Division. During this period he helped prepare and implement several major space programs, at the European level and internationally. In particular he was the French signatory for the international COSPAS-SARSAT program for satellite-based search and rescue. He was also Chairman of ESA

European Space Agency

The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...

-PBEO where he helped define the ERS-1 and ERS-2 EO programs.

Brachet was directly involved in defining and developing the French SPOT

SPOT (satellites)

SPOT is a high-resolution, optical imaging Earth observation satellite system operating from space. It is run by Spot Image based in Toulouse, France...

 satellite program in 1978 and was principally responsible for setting up the SPOT IMAGE company to market their earth observation images. In 1982 Brachet was appointed Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of SPOT IMAGE and remained in this position until 1994. At the same time he was an advisor on space matters to the European Commission

European Commission

The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....

, and in 1991-2 he helped formulate space policy for the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

.

From 1981 to 1989 Brachet was President of the Societe Française de Photogrammetrie et de Teledetection (French Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing). In 1992 he received the Brock Gold Medal Award, a prize that is awarded every four years by the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. He is the only French person to have been distinguished in this way. In 1994, he received the Remote Sensing Society Award. He is a member of the International Astronautics Academy and a corresponding member of the Academie Nationale de l'Air et de l'Espace (National Air and Space Academy). Brachet is an Officier de l'Ordre national du Mérite

Ordre National du Mérite

The Ordre national du Mérite is an Order of State awarded by the President of the French Republic. It was founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle...

 (1997) and a Chevalier de la légion d'honneur

Légion d'honneur

The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...

 (1986).

Brachet returned to CNES in 1994 where he was successively the Director for Programs, Planning and Industrial Policy, and Scientific Director and Director General from July 1997 to December 2003. Brachet was also Chairman of the international "Committee on Earth Observation Satellites" (CEOS), which gathers together 20 space agencies and 7 international organizations with the objective of coordinating Earth observation satellite programs. Since January 2004 he has been a highly respected aerospace consultant. He is serving as a Chairman of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space

United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space

The United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space was established in 1958 as an ad hoc committee...

(COPUOS) from 2006 to 2007.