The Guiana Space Centre or, more commonly, Centre Spatial Guyanais is a
French and European spaceport near Kourou in French Guiana. Operational
since 1968, it is particularly suitable as a location for a spaceport as it
fulfills the two major geographical requirements of such a site:
it is quite close to the equator, so that the spinning earth can impart some
extra velocity to the rockets for free when launched eastward, and
it has uninhabited territory to the east, so that lower stages of rockets
and debris from launch failures cannot fall on human habitations.
The European Space Agency, the French space agency CNES, and the commercial
Arianespace company conduct launches from Kourou. This was the spaceport used
by the ESA to send supplies to the International Space Station using the
Automated Transfer Vehicle. The location was selected in 1964 to
become the spaceport of France. In 1975, France offered to share Kourou with ESA.
Commercial launches are bought also by non-European companies. ESA pays two
thirds of the spaceport's annual budget and has also financed the upgrades made
during the development of the Ariane launchers.
Facilities Kourou is located approximately 500
kilometres north of the equator, at a latitude of 5°10'. The near-equatorial
launch location provides an advantage for launches to low-inclination Earth
orbits compared to launches from spaceports at higher latitude. For
example, the eastward boost provided by the Earth's rotation is about 463 m/s at
the Guiana Space Centre versus about 406 m/s at the United States east coast Cape
Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center spaceports which are at 28°27′N latitude
in Florida. The proximity to the equator also makes maneuvering satellites for
geosynchronous orbits simpler and less costly.
= ELV= Originally built in the 1960s under the
name of CECLES, the ELV pad located at 5.236°N 52.775°W﻿ / 5.236; -52.775 was
designed for the Europa-II rocket. One Europa-II was launched from the site,
before the programme was cancelled. The pad was demolished, and subsequently
rebuilt as the first launch complex for Ariane rockets. Renamed ELA, it was used
for Ariane 1 and Ariane 2 and 3 launches until being retired in 1989.
It was again refurbished for the Vega with the first launch performed on 13
February 2012. = ELA 2=
The ELA 2 pad, located at 5.232°N 52.776°W﻿ / 5.232; -52.776 had been used
for Ariane 4 launches until 2003. = ELA 3=
ELA 3 has been active for Ariane 5 launches since 1996. This facility is
located at 5.239°N 52.768°W﻿ / 5.239; -52.768 and covers an area of 21 square
kilometres. = ELS / Soyuz at CSG=
ESA has built ELS at 5.305°N 52.834°W﻿ / 5.305; -52.834 for launching
Russian-built Soyuz-2 rockets. The first Soyuz launch from ELS was postponed
several times, but launched on October 21, 2011.
ELS is located on the territory of Sinnamary commune, 27 km from Kourou
harbor. It is 10 km north of the site used for the Ariane 5 launches. Under
the terms of the Russo-European joint venture, ESA will augment its own launch
vehicle fleet with Soyuz rockets—using them to launch ESA or commercial
payloads—and the Russians will get access to the Kourou spaceport for
launching their own payloads with Soyuz rockets. Russia will use the Guiana
Space Centre in addition to Baikonur Cosmodrome. The Guiana location has the
significant benefit of greatly increased payload capability, owing to the near
equatorial position. A Soyuz rocket with a 1.7 tonnes to geostationary transfer
orbit performance from Baikonur, will increase its payload potential to 2.8
tonnes from the Guiana launch site. The rocket assembly procedures will
differ from ones used at Baikonur. Traditionally, the Soyuz gets fully
assembled in horizontal position, then transported to a launch pad and erected
for launch. In ELS the rocket solely is assembled in horizontal position, then
transported and erected. A spacecraft is then transported to the pad separately
and attached to the rocket. To protect from dust and wind, the launch pad will
have a closed gantry. The gantry will be able to move away from the pad for
launch. The ELS project is being co-funded by
Arianespace, ESA, and the European Union, with CNES being the prime
contractor. The project has a projected cost of approximately €320 million,
where €120 million are allocated for modernizing the Soyuz vehicle. The
official opening of the launch site construction occurred on 27 February
2007. Excavation work however, had previously begun several months
beforehand. As of May 2008, groundworks were still continuing but the flame pit
was substantially complete, along with the shell of the Soyuz assembly
building. Equipment manufactured in Russia had arrived in French Guiana by
July 2008, with Russian technicians performing the equipment installation at
ELS. In November 2007, reports emerged
attributed to Vladimir Grezdilov, general director of the Mir company, of
thefts from the Soyuz site near Sinnamari, which could cause delays to
its completion and the first launches. In February 2009, ESA reported from
Samara, Russia that the launchers destined for the ELS were being built.
On May 21, 2009, Russian news agency ITAR-TASS reported that the first two
Soyuz-ST to be launched at ELS have been built, tested and prepared for delivery
to ELS. On August 25, 2009, the general director
of the Progress design bureau Alexander Kirilin said that the first launch of
the Soyuz-ST from the Kourou space center was postponed for the beginning
of April 2010. He informed that the first three rockets had been built and
would be shipped on November 1, 2009 by sea.
On September 13, 2010, Spaceflight Now reported that after several delays in
the construction of a mobile gantry the launch pad had been finished, and the
first flight of the Soyuz is expected to occur in early 2011. By October 2010, 18
launch contracts have been signed. Arianespace has ordered 24 launchers
from Russian industry, with the first two already delivered to CSG.
On January 14, 2011, BBC reported that the Soyuz launch complex will have its
qualification review in April with the expectation for the first Soyuz to
lift-off sometime between 15 August and 15 September [of 2011].
On July 1, 2011, Space News reported that after clearance Qualification
Committee a launch October 20, 2011 seems possible.
On October 21, 2011, two Galileo IOV-1 & IOV-2 satellites were launched using a
Soyuz-ST rocket, in the "first Russian Soyuz vehicle ever launched from
Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana." On December 17, 2011, another Soyuz was
launched from Kourou carrying the French space agency's Pleiades 1 A Earth
imaging satellite, four ELISA electronic intelligence satellites, and the SSOT
remote sensing satellite for the Chilean military.
On December 1, 2012, Pleiade 1 B, twin of the above, was put into orbit by yet
another Soyuz. = Final assembly building=
Astrium assembles each Ariane 5 launcher in the Launcher Integration Building.
The vehicle is then delivered to the Final Assembly Building for payload
integration by Arianespace. The Final Assembly Building is located 2.8
kilometres from the ELA-3 launch zone. The mobile launch table completes the
trip with an Ariane 5 in about one hour. It is then secured in place over the
launch pad's flame ducts. Launch safety
Fire safety is ensured by a detachment of the Paris Fire Brigade, a branch of
the French Army. Security around the base is ensured by French Gendarmerie
forces, assisted by the 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment of the French Foreign
Legion. Before and during launch windows, CSG
facility security is significantly enhanced by anti-personnel and
anti-aircraft measures, the exact configurations of which are classified
by the French military. All entrants to the launch complex are also subject to
checks for proof of permission to enter the facility.
The Guiana Space Centre also holds the Îles du Salut, a former penal colony
including the infamous Devil's Island. Now a tourist site, the islands are
under the launching trajectory for geosynchronous orbit and have to be
evacuated during launches. Early launches
10 March 1970 - The first Diamant-B launched the DIAL/MIKA and DIAL/WIKA
satellites. DIAL/MIKA failed during launch, but it entered orbit with a
total mass of 111 kg. DIAL/WIKA provided data for about two months after launch.
Recent launches 5 October 2007 - An Ariane 5 GS launched
from CSG carrying Intelsat 11 and Optus D2.
9 March 2008 - An Ariane 5 launched carrying the ATV Jules Verne in
preparation for docking with the ISS. This was the first launch of the ESA
unmanned resupply craft. 18 April 2008 - An Ariane 5 launched
carrying Vinasat-1 - Vietnam's first satellite.
14 August 2008 - An Ariane 5 carrying Superbird 7 for Mitsubishi Electric
Corporation and AMC-21 for SES Americom 20 December 2008 - An Ariane 5 carrying
HOT BIRD 9 and W2M for Eutelsat 14 May 2009 - An Ariane 5 carrying the
ESA's Herschel and Planck space telescopes
1 July 2009 - An Ariane 5 carrying TerreStar-1, the heaviest commercial
telecommunications satellite ever launched
18 December 2009 - An Ariane 5 carrying Helios 2B European military observation
satellite used by France, Belgium, Spain and Greece.
21 May 2011 - 04:38 An Ariane 5 ECA rocket launched carrying ST-2 Satellite
twice as powerful SingTel’s first satellite ST-1 which was launched back
in 1998. It will provide 20 per cent more transponder capacity and a wider
coverage footprint than ST-1, with C-band and Ku-band coverage of the
Middle East, Central Asia, Indian sub-continent and Southeast Asia.
21 October 2011 - A Soyuz-2 carrying two Galileo satellites was launched. This
was the first launch of a Soyuz rocket at the Guiana Space Centre.
17 December 2011 - A Soyuz carrying the French space agency's Pleiades 1 Earth
imaging satellite, four ELISA electronic intelligence satellites, and the SSOT
remote sensing satellite for the Chilean military. This was the second launch of
a Soyuz at the Guiana Space Centre. 13 February 2012 - The Vega, which was
designed in Italy, lifted off at 10:00 GMT on its maiden voyage. The launcher
released nine satellites into orbit: two Italian satellites and seven
pico-satellites. 5 July 2012 - The unmanned Ariane 5
rocket took off to send an American communication satellite and European
weather-monitoring spacecraft into orbit. Liftoff occurred at 17:36 EDT.
30 August 2013 - Indian Space Research Organisation launched the advanced
multi-band communication satellite GSAT-7. It was 17th Indian satellite
launched from ESA with Ariane. See also
European Space Operations Centre European Space Research and Technology
Centre European Space Astronomy Centre
European Astronaut Centre European Centre for Space Applications
and Telecommunications ESA Centre for Earth Observation
European Space Tracking Network European Space Agency
References External links
Official website(French) Official website
Europe's Spaceport - Information from ESA
List of Stratospheric Balloons launched from CSG - Information from StratoCat
Arianespace mission status - Information on current and upcoming Ariane missions;
list of past missions