Our Toulouse Roots
Toulouse: an innovative, learned and vibrant metropolis
Culture, science, education, research, heritage… In Toulouse, people have always taken pleasure in sharing knowledge and in being moved by historic, scientific and human achievements, as much as by the progress and innovation they represent. This comes naturally to a city that, in 1229, saw the founding of the second-oldest university in France. Here, pleasure and knowledge, history and innovation, science and emotion have always gone hand in hand. Toulouse is also home to museums and science-culture venues such as the Cité de l’espace, L’Envol des Pionniers, the Natural History Museum, the Quai des Savoirs, aeroscopia and the Jolimont Observatory. The city is closely associated with, and often at the origin of, some of the finest aeronautical and space innovations and achievements. The memory of famous names and epic adventures still resonates on its terracotta bricks: Latécoère, Saint-Exupéry, Mermoz, Daurat, l’Aéropostale, Curiosity, Perseverance, Rosetta-Philae, Clément Ader, Pléiades…
From stardust sprang SEMECCEL, a showcase of Toulouse’s excellence. An open forum for scientific debate, where science and the public come closer together.
Toulouse, European capital of aeronautics and space
Firmly grounded in its past, Toulouse today brings together Europe’s largest aeronautics and space community, covering the entire value chain:
- CNES, the French space agency
- European agencies: ESA, GSA, Mercator Océan
- Météo France
- World-class research laboratories: ONERA, OMP, IRAP (“the space clinic”), MEDES
- The education sector: the Lycée de l’Espace, Lycée Saint-Exupéry, the academic space network, Université Toulouse III – Paul Sabatier, ISAE-SUPAERO, ENAC, and the Artificial and Natural Intelligence Toulouse Institute
- Major industrial players: Airbus and its global headquarters, Thales Alenia Space, ATR, Latécoère
- SMEs and start-ups: Aura Aero, Delair, OpenAirlines, Comat, Hemeria
- The Aerospace Valley global competitiveness cluster
- The Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Institute of Research and Technology (IRT)
- The Air and Space Academy and the Space Command of the French armed forces.
SEMECCEL shares the remarkable dynamism of this unique ecosystem with the general public.
Key figures
“We are proud to contribute to the renown of Toulouse”
Since its creation, SEMECCEL has built active partnerships with the professionals and experts of its aeronautics and space ecosystem: industrial companies, scientists, museums and cultural centers, researchers, associations, institutions and tourism stakeholders. This network of influence, rooted in Toulouse, extends across the globe.
In Toulouse, SEMECCEL drives the vitality of the Cité de l’espace and L’Envol des Pionniers, true heritage sites and catalysts of the region’s appeal.
It also deploys its wide-ranging expertise internationally in cultural and scientific outreach and in the operation of cultural and tourist sites.
This contribution to Toulouse’s influence is a source of pride for SEMECCEL’s employees and a major recognition of their work.
