Pedro Duque

{{short description|Spanish astronaut and politician (born 1963)}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Pedro Duque

| honorific_prefix = The Most Excellent

| honorific_suffix = OF OMSE

| image = Pedro Duque (cropped).jpg

| caption = Duque in January 2000

| office = Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities

| predecessor = Position established

| status =

| successor = Diana Morant

| primeminister = Pedro Sánchez

| termstart = 7 June 2018

| termend = 12 July 2021

| office1 = Member of the Congress of Deputies

| term_start1 = 21 May 2019

| term_end1 = 21 February 2020

| constituency1 = Alicante

| party = Independent

| nationality = Spanish

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1963|3|14|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Madrid, Spain

| occupation = Flight engineer

| awards = Grand Cross of Aeronautical Merit
Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation
45px Member of the Order of Friendship (Russian Federation)
Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration"

| module = {{Infobox astronaut|child=yes

| image =

| type = ESA astronaut

| selection = 1992 ESA Group

| status = Retired

| time = 18d 18h 46min

| mission = STS-95, Soyuz TMA-3/2

| insignia = 45px 45px 55px

}}

Pedro Francisco Duque Duque, OF, OMSE (Madrid, 14 March 1963) is a Spanish astronaut and aeronautics engineer who served as minister of Science from 2018 to 2021 and member of the Congress of Deputies, representing Alicante, from May 2019 until February 2020.

Since December 2023, he is the chair of Hispasat.

Biography

= Early life and education =

He was born in Madrid in 1963. His father was an air traffic controller and his mother a school teacher, both were from Badajoz. In 1986, Duque earned a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. In 1986, he worked for GMV and for the European Space Agency (ESA) for six years before being selected as a candidate to become an astronaut in 1992.

= Astronaut =

Duque underwent training in both Russia and the United States. His first spaceflight was as a mission specialist aboard Space Shuttle mission STS-95, during which Duque supervised ESA experimental modules. In October 2003, Duque visited the International Space Station on board a Soyuz TMA Ship for several days during a crew changeover. The name designated by ESA/Spain for the scientific program of this visit was Misión Cervantes.

File:STS-95 crew.jpg in 1998]]

File:ISS-08 Pedro Duque works at the Microgravity Science Glovebox.jpg during Expedition 8]]

=University and business=

In 2003, he started working at UPM School of Aeronautical Engineers as head of operations of the Spanish USOC, also lecturing students on space science and operations.{{cite web |title=El Astronauta e Ingeniero Aeronáutico Pedro Duque "ficha" por su Escuela | url=http://www.aero.upm.es/es/pedro_duque/pedro_duque.html |date=21 October 2004 |access-date=28 April 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041208085022/http://www.aero.upm.es/es/pedro_duque/pedro_duque.html |archive-date=8 December 2004 |language=es |work=Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Aeronaúticos |publisher=Universidad Politécnica de Madrid}}

In 2006, Duque was named Managing Director (CEO) of Deimos Imaging, a private company, that in 2009 put in orbit the first Spanish earth observation satellite (Deimos 1) for application in agriculture, forestry wildfire detection and control. In 2011, he was named Executive President of the Company.

= Return to the ESA =

In October 2011, Duque returned to his position at the European Space Agency, reprising his role as an astronaut. Until 2015, he was the leader of the Flight Operations Office, with responsibility for ESA operations in the ISS. In 2016, Duque participated in ESA CAVES{{Cite journal|date=2021-07-01|title=Speleology as an analogue to space exploration: The ESA CAVES training programme|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0094576521001478|journal=Acta Astronautica|language=en|volume=184|pages=150–166|doi=10.1016/j.actaastro.2021.04.003|issn=0094-5765|last1=Sauro |first1=Francesco |last2=De Waele |first2=Jo |last3=Payler |first3=Samuel J. |last4=Vattano |first4=Marco |last5=Sauro |first5=Francesco Maria |last6=Turchi |first6=Leonardo |last7=Bessone |first7=Loredana |bibcode=2021AcAau.184..150S |s2cid=234819922 |hdl=11585/819077 |hdl-access=free }} training. After that he assumed responsibility for the review of future ESA crewed flights, within the ESA's astronaut corps.

= Minister =

File:El_ministro_de_Ciencia,_Innovación_y_Universidades,_Pedro_Duque,_en_la_Moncloa_(2018).jpg with his minister portfolio.]]

After the success of the June 2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Pedro Sánchez, leader of the new government, named Pedro Duque Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities.{{cite web |title=Astronaut Pedro Duque appointed to Spain's new Cabinet| url=https://edition.cnn.com/2018/06/06/europe/spain-cabinet-astronaut-women-intl/index.html|date=6 June 2018|language=en}}

In April 2019, Duque announced that his ministry was going to increase Spain's contribution to the European Space Agency by €701 million between 2020 and 2026 to ensure an appropriate contribution commensurate with the size of the Spanish economy.{{Cite news|url=https://elpais.com/elpais/2019/04/26/ciencia/1556280067_704804.html|title=España aumenta 700 millones su contribución a la exploración del espacio|last=Domínguez|first=Nuño|date=2019-04-26|work=El País|access-date=2019-06-01|language=es|issn=1134-6582}}

Along side the rest of the Sánchez cabinet, Duque ran for the April 2019 and November 2019 general elections, being elected MP for Alicante.{{Cite web|url=https://www.consalud.es/lupa-sanitaria/carcedo-y-duque-recogen-su-acta-de-diputados-para-la-proxima-legislatura_63781_102.html|title=Carcedo y Duque recogen su acta de diputados en el Congreso|website=Consalud|language=es|access-date=2019-06-01}} In January 2020, Sánchez confirmed Duque as minister of Science and Innovation, with responsibility for university affairs being granted to Manuel Castells, as the first minister of Universities.{{Cite web|date=2020-01-10|title=Pedro Duque mantiene la cartera de Ciencia y pierde Universidades|url=https://www.elmundo.es/ciencia-y-salud/ciencia/2020/01/10/5e18658afc6c8312448b46a7.html|access-date=2021-03-04|website=ELMUNDO|language=es}} He resigned as an MP on 21 February 2020, shortly after being confirmed as minister of Science.{{Cite web|last=València/Alicante|first=A. G. / Pérez Gil |date=2020-02-13|title=Pedro Duque deja el escaño en el Congreso y Ábalos lo retiene|url=https://www.levante-emv.com/comunitat-valenciana/2020/02/13/pedro-duque-deja-escano-congreso-11648395.html|access-date=2021-03-04|website=Levante-EMV|language=es}}

In May 2022, he was appointed to the strategic committee of Destinus as an advisor. The company founded by serial entrepreneur Mikhail Kokorich is developing a hypersonic liquid hydrogen aircraft.{{Cite web |last=Lofqvist |first=Martina |date=2022-05-29 |title=Spain’s Astronaut Pedro Duque joins the Board - Destinus |url=https://destinus.ch/spains-astronaut-pedro-duque-joins-the-board-of-directors-at-destinus/ |access-date=2023-05-26 |website=Destinus - A New Class of Fast |language=en-US}}

In December 2023, he was appointed as chair of Hispasat.{{Cite web |date=2023-12-19 |title=Hispasat aprueba el nombramiento de Pedro Duque como presidente y renueva dos consejeros |url=https://www.europapress.es/economia/noticia-hispasat-aprueba-nombramiento-pedro-duque-nuevo-presidente-da-entrada-dos-nuevos-consejeros-20231219212718.html |access-date=2023-12-24 |publisher=Europa Press}}

Honors and decorations

Order Of Friendship of the Russian Federation (1995)
Grand Cross of Aeronautical Merit (1999)
Prince of Asturias Award of International Cooperation (1999)
Doctor Honoris Causa of the Technical University of Valencia (2005)
Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration" of the Russian federation (2011)
Doctor Honoris Causa of the European University of Madrid (2013)
Doctor Honoris Causa of the National University of Distance Education (2016)
Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Almería

References

External links

[http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_Spaceflight/Astronauts/Pedro_Duque ESA profile page]
[http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/duque.html NASA Biography]
[http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/international/english/duque_pedro.htm Spacefacts biography of Pedro Duque]
[http://www.grupobcc.com/conferenciante/pedro_duque Events and Conferences]
[http://sites.google.com/a/astrocamp.es/astrocamp-en/ Telescope Hosting site in Nerpio, Spain]
[http://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-internacional-44387925 España: quién es Pedro Duque, el primer astronauta español y nuevo ministro de Ciencia]