Guiana Space Centre

Guiana Space Centre

Centre spatial guyanais
Panoramic view of Guiana Space Centre
Agency overview
Formed	14 April 1964; 60 years ago (1964-04-14)
Jurisdiction	Government of France
Headquarters	Kourou, French Guiana
Employees	1,700 direct (2020) 7,500 indirect (2011)
Agency executive	Philippe Lier, Director
Parent agency	ESA / EUSPA / CNES
Website	centrespatialguyanais.cnes.fr
Map
Map of Guiana Space Centre
Detailed map

Guiana Space Centre

Coordinates	5°10′08″N 52°41′25″W / 5.169°N 52.6903°W / 5.169; -52.6903
Operator	Arianespace, ESA
Total launches	321
Launch pad(s)	7
Launch history
Status	Active
First launch	10 March 1970
ALFS launch history Status Inactive Launches 412 First launch 1968 Last launch 1981 Associated rockets Sounding rockets ALD launch history Status Inactive Launches 8 First launch 10 March 1970 Diamant B (Mika / Wika) Last launch 27 September 1975 Diamant BP4 (Aura) Associated rockets Retired: Diamant Future: Miura 5, RFA One, Spectrum[1] ELA-1 / ELV launch history Status Active Launches 49 First launch 5 November 1971 Europa II (STV 4) Last launch 9 October 2023 Vega (THEOS-2) Associated rockets Current: Vega Retired: Ariane 1, Ariane 2, Ariane 3, Europa II ELA-2 launch history Status Inactive Launches 119 First launch 28 March 1986 Ariane 3 (GStar-2) Last launch 15 February 2003 Ariane 4 (Intelsat 907) Associated rockets Retired: Ariane 2, Ariane 3, Ariane 4 ELA-3 launch history Status Inactive Launches 117 First launch 4 June 1996 Ariane 5 (Cluster) Last launch 5 July 2023 Ariane 5 (Syracuse 4B / Heinrich Hertz) Associated rockets Retired: Ariane 5 ELS launch history Status Inactive Launches 27 First launch 21 October 2011 Soyuz ST-B (Galileo) Last launch 10 February 2022 Soyuz ST-B (OneWeb L13) Associated rockets Suspended: Soyuz ST-A, Soyuz ST-B[2] ELA-4 launch history Status Active Launches 1 First launch 9 July 2024 Ariane 6 (multiple payloads) Associated rockets Current: Ariane 6

The Guiana Space Centre (French: Centre spatial guyanais; CSG), also called Europe's Spaceport,^[3][4] is a spaceport to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana, a overseas region of France in South America. Kourou is located approximately 500 kilometres (310 mi; 270 nmi) north of the equator at a latitude of 5°. In operation since 1968, it is a suitable location for a spaceport because of its near equatorial location and open sea to the east and north.

At CSG, space launches are conducted by several European private companies and government agencies working together. The CSG land itself is managed by CNES, the French national space agency. The launch infrastructure built on the CSG land is owned by the European Space Agency. The private company Arianespace operates the launches including planning missions, handing customer relationships and overseeing the team at CSG at that integrates and prepares vehicles for launch. The rockets themselves are designed and produced by other companies, ArianeGroup for the Ariane 6 and Avio for the Vega.