Key player of the French Space Defense Strategy, Michel Friedling was the first French Space Commander from 2019 to 2022, leading military space operations, including Space Domain Awareness, and policy. His leadership advanced French space defense in collaboration with international partners. A fighter pilot with a degree in aeronautics and space engineering, he has lodged more than 2,400 flying hours on fighter aircraft. He is member of the Advisory Board of the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI), an independent Vienna-based think-tank. He has published Space Commander – Issues, Threats and Challenges of the New Space Age, released in October 2023.