Jean-Pierre Causse was educated at a Lycée in Montpellier and in Paris (Saint Louis) before attending the Ecole Normale Supérieure. He was a researcher with the Paris Observatory from 1952 to 1955, then worked as a physicist for the Schlumberger Ltd research centre in the United States, until 1960. For the following two years he created and directed a department in photoelectricity at Electro-Mechanical Research Inc. (a subsidiary of Schlumberger) in Princeton. He was then closely associated with the early American space activities, developing far advanced ultra-violet detectors for both the Goddard Space Flight Center and JPL.
Jean-Pierre Causse joined CNES as Director of the Satellites Division, where he was responsible for the first French satellites, FR-1 (1965) Diapason (1966) and Diadème 1 and 2 (1967). In 1967, the Rome Ministerial meeting of the European Space Conference appointed him Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Programmes. In January of the following year, the Causse report was produced. It proposed both a new organizational structure and a space policy which included both fundamental research and applications, satellites and launchers. In 1969, Causse became Deputy Secretary General of ELDO and Director of Future Programmes. He was responsible for the development of Europa III (a technical precursor of Ariane), and for investigating the possibilities of collaboration with the United States in the NASA post-Apollo programme. As such he participated in all the meetings of the European Space Conference's Committee of Alternates, and was a member of missions to Washington to negotiate use of NASA launchers for European satellites.
As ELDO wound up in 1973, Jean-Pierre Causse was appointed head of the Spacelab programme in ESRO, and joined negotiations leading to the ESA-NASA Spacelab agreement. During 1973 and 1974 he directed the Spacelab programme at ESTEC and ESRO headquarters until the issue of the tender. At this time he was also co-chair of the Spacelab Steering committee and a member of the NASA Space Shuttle management committee. Causse resigned from ESRO in 1974 and entered industry, directing research at Saint-Gobain until 1989. He retired in 1990.
Jean-Pierre Causse has served as advisor to Jacques Valade, Minister for Research and Higher Education (1987 to 1988). He is a member of the committee on applications of the Academy of Sciences and an officer in the Legion of Honour and a commander in the National Order of Merit.