Professor Jacques Blamont , born on 13 October 1926 , is a member of the Academy of Sciences , Emeritus Professor at the University of Paris VI . A former student of Nobel Prize in Physics ( Alfred Kastler ), he was one of the actors of the French space program, especially in connection with Nasa , the JPL and space centers of the former USSR .It was the first scientific and technical director of CNES in 1962 . We owe him the first French satellite, the installation of the base of Kourou in French Guyana and some small robots of interplanetary exploration.He was awarded Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India, in 2015.