Guiana Space Centre

The Guiana Space Centre (French: Centre spatial guyanais; CSG), also called Europe's Spaceport,[2][3] is a European spaceport to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana, a region of France in South America. Kourou is located approximately 310 mi (500 km) north of the equator, at a latitude of 5°. In operation since 1968, it is suitable as a location for a spaceport, because of its equatorial location and open sea to the east.

Guiana Space Centre
Centre spatial guyanais

Panoramic view of Guiana Space Centre
Agency overview
Formed14 April 1964 (1964-04-14)
JurisdictionGovernment of France
HeadquartersKourou, French Guiana, France
Employees1,700 direct (2020)
7,500 indirect (2011)
Agency executive
  • Marie-Anne Clair, director
Parent agencyESA/EUSPA/CNES
Websitewww.cnes-csg.fr
Map
Map of Guiana Space Centre
Detailed map
Detailed map of Carbet Toukan pads
Guiana Space Centre
OperatorArianespace, ESA
Total launches316
Launch pad(s)7
Launch history
StatusActive
First launch10 March 1970
Diamant B / Mika / Wika
Last launch7 September 2022
Ariane 5 / Eutelsat Konnect VHTS
ALFS launch history
StatusInactive
Launches412
First launch1968
Last launch1981
Associated
rockets
Sounding rockets
ALD launch history
StatusInactive
Launches8
First launch10 March 1970
Diamant B / Mika / Wika
Last launch27 September 1975
Diamant BP4 / Aura
Associated
rockets
Diamant (retired)
Spectrum (future)[1]
ELV launch history
StatusActive
Launches47
First launch5 November 1971
Europa II / STV-4
Last launch13 July 2022
Vega (rocket) / VV21 Lares 2
Associated
rockets
Europa II (retired)
Ariane 1 (retired)
Ariane 2 (retired)
Ariane 3 (retired)
Vega (rocket) (current)
ELA-2 launch history
StatusInactive
Launches119
First launch28 March 1986
Ariane 3 / GStar-2
Last launch15 February 2003
Ariane 4 / Intelsat 907
Associated
rockets
Ariane 3 (retired)
Ariane 2 (retired)
Ariane 4 (retired)
ELA-3 launch history
StatusActive
Launches115
First launch4 June 1996
Ariane 5 / Cluster FM1
Last launch7 September 2022
Ariane 5 / Eutelsat Konnect VHTS
Associated
rockets
Ariane 5 (current)
ELS launch history
StatusActive
Launches27
First launch21 October 2011
Soyuz ST-B / Galileo (satellite navigation)
Last launch10 February 2022
Soyuz ST-B / OneWeb satellite constellation
Associated
rockets
Soyuz ST-A (current)
Soyuz ST-B (current)
ELA-4 launch history
StatusActive
Launches0
First launch2023 (planned)
Ariane 6
Last launch
Q
Associated
rockets
Ariane 6 (current)

The European Space Agency (ESA), the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), the French space agency CNES (National Centre for Space Studies), the Space Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azercosmos) and the commercial company Arianespace conduct launches from Kourou.[4][5][6] It was used by the ESA to send supplies to the International Space Station using the Automated Transfer Vehicle.

History

In 1964 Guiana was selected to become the spaceport of France,[7][8] replacing France's first launch site Centre interarmées d'essais d'engins spéciaux in Hammaguir, Algeria.[9] In 1975, France offered to share Kourou with the ESA.[7][8] Commercial launches are also bought 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.

On 4 April 2017, the center was occupied by 30 labor unions and indigenous peoples leaders in the midst of the 2017 social unrest in French Guiana, highlighting problems from its colonial heritage,[10] but was taken back on 24 April 2017.[11]

Facilities

The Guiana Space Centre was built in its current location for many reasons. Located near the equator, substantially less energy is required to maneuver a spacecraft from the spaceport into an equatorial, geostationary orbit. Adjacent to the Centre is the open sea to the east, reducing the chance of lower stages of rockets and debris from launch failures falling on or near human habitations. Rockets usually launch to the east to take advantage of the angular momentum provided by Earth's rotation.

The near-equatorial launch location of The Guiana Space Centre is meant to provide an advantage for launches to low-inclination (or geostationary) Earth orbits compared to launches from spaceports at higher latitude. This is because rockets can be launched into orbits with an inclination of as low as ~6°. The lowest inclination a rocket from Cape Canaveral could be launched to is 28.5° (the latitude of Cape Canaveral). Inclination change burns already require significant amounts of delta-v, needing to change inclination by 28.5° can seriously affects a rocket's capability to send satellites into a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). As a result of these phenomena, similarly sized Proton and Ariane 5 rockets can send similar payloads to LEO. However, the Proton, launched from high latitudes in Russia, can only send 6,270 kg to GTO while a Kourou-launched Ariane 5 can send more than 10,000 kg to GTO.[12][13]

BEC / ELA-1 / ELV

Originally built in the 1960s under the name of Base Équatoriale du CECLES (English: ELDO Equatorial Base), the pad located at 5.236°N 52.775°W / 5.236; -52.775 was designed for the Europa-II launch vehicle. One Europa-II was launched from the site in 1971, which ended in failure due to a guidance problem, before the program was cancelled.[14]

The pad was demolished, and subsequently rebuilt as the first launch complex for Ariane as ELA (French: Ensemble de Lancement Ariane). Redesignated later as ELA-1, it was used for Ariane 1 and Ariane 2 and 3 launches until being retired in 1989.[15]

In November 2001, it was refurbished again for the Vega rocket and renamed ELV (French: Ensemble de Lancement Vega). The first launch was launched on 13 February 2012.[16]

ELA-2

The ELA-2 pad (French: Ensemble de Lancement Ariane-2), located at 5.232°N 52.776°W / 5.232; -52.776, built in 1986, had been used for Ariane 4 launches from 1988 until 2003. Before 1988, although purpose-built for Ariane 4, the pad hosted an Ariane-2 and two Ariane-3 launches. The complex consisted of two areas: the launcher preparation zone and the launch pad, separated by one kilometre, allowing a launcher to be assembled in the preparation zone while another launches from the pad. A mobile service tower at the launch pad provided a protected environment for payload installation and final preparation of the rocket.[17] In September 2011 the pad's service tower was demolished using explosives.[18]

ELA-3

ELA-3 (French: Ensemble de Lancement Ariane-3) has been active, launching Ariane 5 rockets since 1996. This facility is located at 5.239°N 52.768°W / 5.239; -52.768 and covers an area of 21 km2 (8.1 sq mi).[19]

ELA-4

ELA4 is located along the Route de l'Espace in the Roche Christine site at 5.26258°N 52.79074°W / 5.26258; -52.79074, between ELA-3 and ELS launch facilities. CNES was responsible for the construction of the Ariane 6 ground segments including the new launch pad. Earthworks on the 150 hectare launch site began at the end of June 2015 and was completed at the start of 2016. Four platforms were levelled to accommodate the launch pad, the liquid oxygen and hydrogen tanks and the assembly building. Civil engineering works on the flame trench and other buildings began in the summer of 2016 and ended in 2019.[20][21] The new launch facility was inaugurated on 28 September 2021 with first flight of the Ariane 6 scheduled in 2023.[22]

ELS / Soyuz at CSG

ESA has built ELS (French: Ensemble de Lancement Soyouz) 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 21 October 2011.[23]

ELS is located on the territory of Sinnamary commune, 27 km (17 mi) from Kourou harbor.[24] It is 10 km (6.2 mi) northwest 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 tones to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) performance from Baikonur will increase its payload potential to 2.8 tones from the Guiana launch site.[25]

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.[26] The official opening of the launch site construction occurred on 27 February 2007. Excavation work however, had previously begun several months beforehand.

On 13 September 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 was expected to occur in early 2011.[27] By October 2010, 18 launch contracts were signed. Arianespace has ordered 24 launchers from Russian industry.[28]

On 21 October 2011, two Galileo IOV-1 and 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.".[29]

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.[30] The Final Assembly Building is located 2.8 km (1.7 mi) 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.[31]

Launches

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 (as per CNES) also contains 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.[32] DIAL/WIKA provided data for about two months after launch.[33]

Recent launches

  • 5 October 2007 — An Ariane 5 GS launched from CSG carrying Intelsat 11 and Optus D2.[34]
  • 9 March 2008 — An Ariane 5 launched carrying the ATV (Automated Transfer Vehicle) Jules Verne in preparation for docking with the International Space Station (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.[35]
  • 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[36][37]
  • 14 May 2009 — An Ariane 5 carrying the ESA's Herschel and Planck space telescopes[38]
  • 1 July 2009 — An Ariane 5 carrying TerreStar-1, the heaviest commercial telecommunications satellite ever launched[39]
  • 18 December 2009 — An Ariane 5 carrying Helios 2B European military observation satellite used by France, Belgium, Spain and Greece.[40]
  • 21 May 2011 — 04:38 (GMT+08:00) An Ariane 5 ECA launch vehicle launched carrying ST-2 Satellite twice as powerful Singtel's first satellite ST-1, which was launched back in 1998. It will provide 20% 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 subcontinent 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 Centre Spatial Guyanais.[41]
  • 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.[42]
  • 13 February 2012 — The Vega, which was designed in Italy, lifted off at 10:00 UTC on its maiden voyage. The launcher released nine satellites into orbit: two Italian satellites and seven pico-satellites.[43]
  • 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 21:36 UTC.[44]
  • 30 August 2013 — Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched the advanced multi-band communication satellite GSAT-7.[45] It was 17th Indian satellite launched from ESA with Ariane 5.[46]
  • 16 October 2014 — An Ariane 5 launch vehicle carrying the communication satellite ARSAT-1 to orbit. It is the first geostationary satellite built by a Latin American country, Argentina, and the second one of the Americas, after USA.
  • 30 September 2015 — An Ariane 5 launch vehicle carrying the communication satellite ARSAT-2 to orbit, being the second Argentine geostationary satellite built in two years.
  • 1 October 2015 — Sky Muster (NBN-Co 1A) is a communication satellite launched on an Ariane 5 ECA launch vehicle. Sky Muster is the first satellite of an operation to improve Australia's internet with the NBN program.
  • 6 October 2016 — Sky Muster II (NBN-Co 1B) is a communication satellite launched on an Ariane 5 ECA launch vehicle. Sky Muster II is the second satellite of an operation to improve Australia's internet with the NBN program.
  • 28 January 2017 — A Soyuz-2 STB carrying the geostationary communication satellite Hispasat 36W-1 to orbit. It is the first of the ESA's "Small-GEO" class of satellites.
  • 14 February 2017 — An Ariane 5 launch vehicle carrying the commercial communication satellites Sky Brasil 1 (Intelsat 32e) and Telekom 3S launched the satellites to a geostationary orbit.
  • 25 January 2018 — Partial failure of Ariane 5 launch vehicle on Ariane flight VA241.
  • 19 October 2018 — An Ariane 5 launch vehicle launches the European-Japanese BepiColombo mission to Mercury.[47]
  • 5 February 2019 — Ariane 5 launched the Saudi Geostationary Satellite SGS-1 (also known as SaudiGeosat-1/HellasSat-4).
  • 11 July 2019 — Vega launch vehicle failed to launch Falcon Eye 1 satellite for United Arab Emirates Armed Forces.
  • 15 August 2020 — An Ariane 5 launched MEV-2, BSAT-4b, and Galaxy-30.[48]
  • 25 December 2021 — James Webb Space Telescope.[49]

Launch statistics

As of 8 September 2022[50][51]

As of 2017, Kourou counts amongst the spaceports with the highest percentage of successful launches, both successive and overall. Here is a chronology of all orbital launches from the Kourou spaceport since 1970, under the French and European space programmes.

Flights by launcher

3
6
9
12
15
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
In development: 
  •    Ariane 6
Active: 

Retired: 
  •    Diamant
  •    Europa 2
  •    Ariane 1
  •    Ariane 2
  •    Ariane 3
  •    Ariane 4

Flights by mission outcome

3
6
9
12
15
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020

  Success     Failure     Partial Failure     Scheduled

  • Charts include all orbital launches from Kourou; sounding rockets are excluded.
  • Historical data: launch tables from List of Ariane launches, Soyuz ST, Vega and Encyclopedia Aeronautica.

Local impact

Colonialism

The space sector was responsible for about 15% of French Guiana's GDP in 2014, around half of the 28% it was in 1990. This reduction is mostly due to expansion in other sectors, rather than decreasing space activity. As of 2020 the space sector employed 4620 people in Guiana, meaning the industry was responsible for just under 10% of salaried jobs in the territory,[52] though there are estimates that as many as 9000 people are employed directly and indirectly as a result of activities at the spaceport.[53] The Guiana Space Centre (or CSG) is one of the spaceports in the world that receives the most traffic, and it receives large amounts of funding from the European Space Agency (ESA), with the organisation covering around 66% of the spaceport's annual budget, as well as financing new facilities.[54] Indigenous and local activist groups argue that mainland France is only interested in French Guiana as far as the space centre is concerned, and the funding that the space centre receives is symbolic given the inequity in living standards seen between the department and mainland France.[55][56] Historically, the space centre has been referred to as its own state, and activists have accused both the French state and the space centre of colonial practices.[57]

Decolonisation of space exploration is mostly focussed on large scale efforts regarding outer space environments, however issues surrounding the Guiana Space Centre have been attributed to the continued postcolonial running of French Guiana. Proponents of this line of thinking argue that whilst the general populace may want to remain a territory of France for the benefits this entails, the negative impacts of colonialism are still being seen today, particularly in the running of the space centre.[10] For example, despite there being high poverty levels and unemployment rates of over 20% in the department, the cost of living remains high due to a dependence on mainland France for imported food and resources, yet large amounts of funding are invested in the space programme, rather than in public services for the department.[58]

The territory became the site of strikes and protests over the course of March and April 2017, which were held to highlight the insecurity and infrastructural issues facing French Guiana bought about by its colonial history.[10] Alongside 30 labour unions who launched strikes, the Collective of 500 Brothers led protests in Kourou, which spread across the entire country, and resonated in mainland France.[59][60] On 21 March 2017, the launch of an Ariane 5 rocket carrying a Brazilian satellite and a South Korean satellite was prevented due to protesters and workers on strike from the CSG blockading the centre.[61] Further strikes and occupation of the space centre meant that the satellites were not launched until May 2017.[62] Negotiations between the French government and Guianese protesters resulted in a rejection of a €1.1 billion offer made by the French, with the Guianese demanding at least €3 billion in aid.[56] Since the protests, CNES (National Centre for Space Studies), the French government space agency that operate the spaceport, added an additional €10 million to the €40 it had already pledged to fund economic and social programmes in French Guiana.[53] It has been said that the impact of these protests demonstrated not only the locality of the impact of colonialism, but also the vulnerability of postcolonialism in space travel to the organisation of workers and citizens.[10]

Labour geographies

Scholars in the field of labor geography, the study of spatial relationships in the context of employment and worker agency,[63] have begun geographical analysis of space centres.[64] In addition to the impacts experienced during the 2017 unrest, the CSG also experienced worker walkouts in 2011. Workers who operated the radar responsible for tracking an Ariane 5 rocket's launch into space were part of strike action organised by the Trade Union of French Guiana workers representing workers from a subcontractor of Ariane in Italy, Telespazio. This walkout prevented the scheduled launch with only 7 hours’ notice, and delayed satellite launches set to benefit the United States and the Middle East.[65] Although workers unionising has hindered multiple missions, it has been suggested that workers perpetuate the uneven conditions around space facilities that result from colonialism and the capitalist modes of production. Despite being negatively impacted by these uneven conditions, worker efforts to make the mundane or potentially high-stress jobs they do more enjoyable or manageable contribute to the success of the facilities and further “astro-capitalism”.[64] At the CSG certain traditions arose in the workplace that were believed to increase chances of success, such as lighting candles at the church in Kourou when launches were taking place, or sprinkling salt in order to cultivate professional working relationships.[57]

It has also been stressed that consideration of different intersectional identities must also occur to understand labour geographies of space centres, so that different experiences and voices can be understood in the context of the space age.[64] Different identities impact the labour geographies of the CSG and French Guiana as a whole. Tension between workers has been seen within the space centre, where European engineers have criticised the “lack of professional commitment to labour” of the Guianese workers.[57] Also, there is tension between workers at the facility and workers in other sectors, with there being claims that citizens must choose between working in the space centre or living in poverty.[66] Labour geography seeks to show that space workers, such as those at the Guiana Space Centre, do not serve as a “passive appendage” to struggles around space travel and “astro-capitalism”[64]

See also

  • French space program
  • European Space Operations Centre (ESOC)
  • European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC)
  • European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC)
  • European Astronaut Centre (EAC)
  • European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications (ECSAT)
  • ESA Centre for Earth Observation (ESRIN)
  • European Space Tracking Network (ESTRACK)
  • European Space Agency (ESA)
  • 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment

References

  1. "Isar Aerospace to launch from French Guiana". Space News. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  2. "Europe's Spaceport". ESA.int. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  3. "CNES FACILITIES". CNES.fr. 23 April 2015.
  4. "CNES at Europe's Spaceport". European Space Agency. ESA.
  5. "ESA at Europe's Spaceport". European Space Agency. ESA.
  6. "Arianespace at Europe's Spaceport". European Space Agency. ESA.
  7. "Installation of the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana" Archived 1 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Guiana Space Centre official website
  8. "Europe's Spaceport" Archived 26 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine. European Space Agency official website
  9. Gorman, Alice (2009). "The Archaeology of Space Exploration". The Sociological Review. SAGE Publications. 57 (1_suppl): 132–145. doi:10.1111/j.1467-954x.2009.01821.x. ISSN 0038-0261. S2CID 142643666.
  10. Haris Durrani (19 July 2019). "Is Spaceflight Colonialism". The Nation. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  11. "Guyane : le Centre spatial guyanais occupé par des manifestants" (in French). La Croix. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  12. "Ariane 5 - Arianespace". Arianespace. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  13. "Commercial Launch Vehicle | ILS Proton Breeze M | International Launch Services". ilslaunch.com. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  14. "EUROPA II (1971)". CNES. 21 August 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  15. "Pad List - World Launch Sites". Space Launch Report. Archived from the original on 22 October 2009.
  16. "Vega Liftoff". ESA.int. 13 February 2012. Archived from the original on 12 March 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  17. "Guiana Space Center - Site advantages". Arianespace. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  18. "The Spaceport's ELA-2 launch facility is dismantled after an illustrious career". Arianespace. 26 September 2011. Archived from the original on 30 June 2019.
  19. "Europe's spaceport". ESA.
  20. "The Ariane 6 system: On board-ground interfaces and launch facility" (PDF) (in French). CNES. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  21. "Ariane 6". ESA. 5 November 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  22. "ELA-4 launch complex inaugurated at Guiana Space Centre". CNES. 28 September 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  23. SpaceflightNow's VS01 flight status page Archived 14 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  24. Harvey, Brian (10 August 2007). Space Exploration 2007. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 138. ISBN 978-0-387-48758-8.
  25. (in French) Le Port Spatial de l'Europe (CNES) Archived 30 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  26. "Europe To Pay Russia To Build Soyuz Pad At Kourou: Russia". SpaceDaily.
  27. "Soyuz, Vega flights from French Guiana set for 2011".
  28. "Arianespace hosts meeting of launch system manufacturers" (Press release). Evry. 11 October 2010.
  29. Messier, Doug (22 October 2011). "Soyuz Launches From Kourou for First Time". Parabolic Arc. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  30. "Arianespace receives its fifth Ariane 5 of 2008". Arianespace. 28 July 2008.
  31. "Ariane 5 rolls out for Arianespace's fifth launch of 2007". Arianespace. 8 November 2007. Archived from the original on 25 January 2008.
  32. "DIAL/MIKA - NSSDC ID: 1970-017B". NASA NSSDC. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  33. "DIAL/WIKA - NSSDC ID: 1970-017A". NASA NSSDC. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  34. "Arianespace boosts Intelsat 11 and Optus D2 into orbit". Arianespace. Archived from the original on 1 June 2008.
  35. "Vietnam successfully pilots Vinasat-1". VietNamNet. 22 April 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  36. "Eutelsat satellite fleet - Upcoming launches". www.eutelsat.com. Archived from the original on 22 January 2009.
  37. "Eutelsat's Hot Bird 9 and W2M Satellites Lofted into Orbit" (PDF) (Press release). Paris: Eutelsat Communications. 20 December 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 April 2012.
  38. "ESA en route to the origins of the Universe". ESA. 14 May 2009. Retrieved 14 May 2009.
  39. Amos, Jonathan (1 July 2009). "Ariane lofts biggest 'space bird'". BBC. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  40. "Helios 2". Archived from the original on 31 October 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
  41. Rosenberg, Zach. "First Soyuz launch from French Guiana". FlightGlobal. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  42. "Arianespace VSO2 mission: Soyuz STA orbits Pleiades 1A, ELISA and SSOT". Arianespace. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  43. "Successful lift-off for Vega rocket". News24.
  44. "Follow Ariane launch live". Centre National d'Études Spatiales. CNES. 23 April 2015.
  45. India launches first defence satellite GSAT-7 Archived 4 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  46. Navy's first satellite GSAT-7 now in the Space Archived 1 November 2014 at archive.today The Hindu, 30 August 2013 by Madhumati D. S.
  47. "BepiColombo Spacecraft Launch on 7-Year Trek to Mercury for Europe and Japan". space.com. 20 October 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  48. "Ariane 5 launches Mission Extension Vehicle, two communications satellites to orbit". 14 August 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  49. "Launch Countdown Webb/NASA".
  50. Clark, Stephen (26 October 2018). "Launch schedule". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  51. "Le Centre Spatial Guyanais - CNES". cnes-csg.fr.
  52. "Rapport Annuel Économoque Guyane 2020" (PDF). Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  53. Henry, Caleb (27 July 2018). "French space agency pledges 10-million-euro boost to French Guiana economy". Space News. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  54. European Space Agency. "Europe's Spaceport". ESA. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  55. "Guyana: Protesters left the Guiana Space Center". La Croix. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  56. D'Auria, Peter (17 April 2017). "How a handful of South American protestors took Europe's space program hostage". Quartz. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  57. Redfield, Peter (19 December 2000). Space in the Tropics: From Convicts to Rockets in French Guiana. University California Press. ISBN 9780520923423. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  58. MacDonald, Scott (20 April 2021). "Has anything changed since French Guiana's 2017 social upheaval?". Global Americans. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  59. "French Guiana paralysed by general strike". AlJazeera. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  60. Breeden, Aurelien (27 March 2017). "Strikes Shut Down French Guiana, With Effects Resonating in Paris". New York Times. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  61. "Spaceport protest delays rocket launch in French Guiana". BBC News. 21 March 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  62. "Strike-delayed European rocket launches in French Guiana". Phys Org. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  63. Castree, Noel (December 2007). "Labour Geographies: A Work In Progress". International Journal of Urban and Regional Research. 31 (4): 853–862. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2427.2007.00761.x. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  64. Dunnett, Oliver (2019). "Geographies of Outer Space: Progress and New Opportunities" (PDF). Progress in Human Geography. 43 (2): 314–336. doi:10.1177/0309132517747727. S2CID 149382358. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  65. Clark, Stephen. "Labor strike forces delay of Ariane rocket launch". Spaceflight now. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  66. "Protesters converge on space center as French Guiana's financial crisis worsens". The Japanese Times. Archived from the original on 6 April 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.