A difficult implementation
Europe's spaceport is the second most visited site in French Guiana. An economic powerhouse for some, a "state within a state" for others, the Space Center still inspires rather ambivalent feelings today. Planned programs (led by Ariane 6) suggest that the space adventure will last at least another fifteen or twenty years. Technological advances mean that more and more operations are now carried out entirely on site. The CSG's importance to France shows no signs of diminishing.
Historical background. Let's look back for a moment at the history of the Guiana Space Center (CSG). If it hadn't been for the Algerian war, Kourou would probably never have experienced this adventure. Indeed, when the Evian Agreements were signed in 1962, France found itself obliged to look for a new launch site to replace the one it had just abandoned in the middle of the Algerian Sahara. The choice of a new site was a very delicate affair, since it would commit the country for many years to come, and would involve gigantic works. The selection parameters are of several kinds. The site must be located as close as possible to the equator, to enable more economical launches. In fact, it's from this position that the satellite can reach its final orbit with minimum fuel consumption, ensuring a longer life. In addition to the problem of latitude, it is also essential to select a site that is geographically stable to avoid earthquakes and that is not a cyclone zone. The demographic issue also had to be taken into account: despite all the precautions that can be taken, a launch presents risks. It was therefore out of the question to locate a launch center close to an area with a high population density or concentration of economic activities.
Last but not least, there was the political aspect. The Algerian experience served as a lesson: France could not afford to set up a new center in a territory that risked losing its control as a result of independence movements. Taking each of these imperatives into account, General de Gaulle finally decided in 1964 that the center would be set up in Kourou, in French Guiana. An ideal latitude, very stable soil, a hurricane-free climate and low population density were all factors in favor of this choice. 90,000 hectares were requisitioned from the soil of "American France". In just a few months, the Fusée-Sonde site, the first launch zone, would see the light of day. But the construction of the center itself would pale into insignificance beside the gigantic development and urbanization works to come. Roads, bridges, buildings, hospitals and schools are springing up like mushrooms, profoundly changing the face of this traditional little town.
Well-defined missions
The main missions of the Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) are: to ensure the organization and general coordination of the operational activities of the Communauté Industrielle Spatiale de Guyane (CISG : an organization grouping together all the companies directly involved in the development, production and export of space transportation systems in French Guiana, namely CNES, Arianespace and four other companies); to acquire and process launch-related data; to ensure the protection of people, property and the environment during hazardous operations and launches; to provide the logistical support needed to prepare launchers and payloads. But that's not all! CNES also defines and implements safety and protection measures for all persons and installations dependent on the center, as well as those of launchers, payloads and associated equipment present in French Guiana; adapts the center to the missions inherent in new French and European projects such as Ariane 6 and Vega-C; and tracks and locates satellites on behalf of CNES networks and the European Space Agency (ESA: intergovernmental organization created in 1975 to develop Europe's space capabilities). CNES is also the landowner of the entire space site in French Guiana, and contributes to the development of the region alongside local elected representatives and public partners.
CNES provides launchers and satellites with all the technical and logistical resources they need for preparation and launch. To this end, the CSG provides its customers with : the Jupiter control center, which coordinates all the resources deployed during the launch, and ensures in-flight monitoring; telemetry reception stations in French Guiana, supplemented for launches to the east by stations near Natal (Brazil), Ascension Island (UK), Libreville (Gabon) and Malindi (Kenya), which record data transmitted by radar during the flight, enabling the launcher's trajectory to be plotted and providing the information needed for back-up and satellite diagnostics; and finally, a meteorological station which provides real-time data on wind direction and speed (on the ground and aloft) and lightning risks (these two criteria, if not optimal, can lead to a postponement of the launch).
From Veronique to Ariane 6, the European space epic
The first French space experiments were carried out in the Saharan desert of Algeria. Following the country's independence, French Guiana was chosen as the site for a new launch base. On April 9, 1968, the CSG inaugurated its first launch, with the Véronique rocket and the launch of nine rockets under the Diamant program. This was followed by the launch of the Europa program, intended to embody the beginnings of European collaboration in space. This heavy, low-performance launcher was a resounding failure for the European space community, with its first and only launch on November 5, 1971. Some even agree that Europa could have sounded the death knell of this epic, had another program not quickly seen the light of day: Ariane.
It was on Christmas Eve 1979 that Ariane made its maiden voyage into space. After Ariane 1, the Ariane 2 (1984) and Ariane 3 (1986) launchers carried out several missions with varying degrees of success. It wasn't until the launch of Ariane 4 in June 1988 that spectacular progress was made. This version of the Ariane launcher has the major advantage of being scalable according to the load carried, being able to put into orbit one or two satellites weighing a total of 4.7 tonnes. In the space of 24 years, of the 116 Ariane 4 launches and 183 satellites launched, only two have failed. The CSG became the world's most important launch site. But competition from Russia, China and the USA was fierce, and to meet the changing needs of users, but also to establish European supremacy, a new launcher, Ariane 5, was launched in mid-1996.
More squat-looking than its predecessor, it is more powerful and more economical. Its payload capacity now exceeds 6 tonnes, enabling several large satellites to be launched simultaneously. Implementation of the Ariane 5 program led to the construction of a plant to manufacture the propellant needed to power the launcher. On June 4, 1996, the first Ariane 5 launch was a failure. The third attempt, in 1998, proved successful, and in December of the following year, Arianne 5 made its first commercial flight. From then on, Arianespace took over production and commercial operation of the launcher. Although an attempt to launch a 10-ton payload into orbit in 2002 was unsuccessful, on March 9, 2008, the successful launch of the ATV Jules Verne set a new record, with a mass of 20 tons placed in orbit!
Since 2011, Europe has had two other launchers. The Vega light launcher is designed to place payloads of up to 1.5 tonnes into polar orbit. Its first launch took place on February 13, 2012, and it is now making one or two launches a year. The medium Soyuz is a Russian launcher with a payload capacity of around 3.5 tonnes. These facilities are located within the confines of the base. The first Soyuz lifted off on October 20, 2011. The war in Ukraine halted the last scheduled launches. In 2018, eleven launches were carried out from CSG, including six Ariane 5s, three Soyuzes and two Vegas. On July 5, 2023, Ariane 5 will launch for the last time in its history.
On December 2, 2014, a major agreement was signed between the member states of the European Space Agency (ESA) to launch Europe's new Ariane 6 rocket. This new launcher, whose first launch, initially scheduled for 2022, will not actually take place until 2024, will be less costly and should enable Europe to stay in the space race against competition from China's Long March and Elon Musk's SpaceX. The Kourou Space Center therefore seems to have a bright future ahead of it.
Nevertheless, since 2022, we have seen far fewer launches than in the past. Firstly, because space cooperation between the European Union and Russia is also suffering from the war in Ukraine. As a result, on February 27, 2022, the Russian space agency Roscosmos announced its withdrawal from Kourou: there will be no more Soyuz launches from the Guiana space center (at least not in the short to medium term). The last Soyuz launch took place on February 10, 2022.
So, whereas in the boom years there was about one launch a month, in 2022 there were "only" 6 (3 Ariane 5, 2 Vega-C and 1 Soyuz). And that's not going to change any time soon. Ariane 5 also had its last launch on July 5, 2023, sending two satellites (one French, one German) into geostationary orbit 36,000 km from Earth. This 117th launch marked the end of a 27-year career, marked by more than 80 consecutive successes. Its successor, Ariane 6, will take over from 2024. Will this be enough to keep pace with a rapidly evolving space market, with its new, innovative players not held back by the inertia of cooperation between twenty or so countries? SpaceX's new Falcon reusable launchers, for example, are likely to further consolidate the supremacy of the American company.
Visit of the CSG
Whether or not you're a high-tech and/or space enthusiast, a guided tour of the Guiana Space Center (CSG), which lasts around 4 hours, is fun, informative and free of charge, attracting over 22,000 visitors a year. With a surface area of around 660 km², the tour takes visitors in a comfortable bus, accompanied by a guide, across the vast expanses separating the various launch zones for the Ariane, Soyuz and Vega rockets. If the schedule permits, the bus can even park at the foot of the launch pads. After a stopover at the Ariane 5 launch center, where, in a cabin overlooking the control room, you can learn more about the components that make up a rocket and how a launch unfolds to the second, the tour ends in the famous Jupiter room, the main control center at CSG. Cosmo-curious visitors can round off the tour with a visit to the Space Museum.
