Stuck by delaysAriadne 6 and reports? Not at all, the Guiana Space Center is on the contrary in full mutation. Three European NewSpace start-ups have signed up to use the new launch complex from 2025, while the teams will expand for new rates.
All in the middle of the jungle, in a preserved site.
A calm year for some…
Seen from afar, the Thisbetween SpGuyanese could seem in a gloomy year, for lack of take-offs: only one since the beginning of the year, and few prospects. Ariane 5 is awaiting its last flight before dismantling the facilities, the Soyuz site is shut down (the Europeans have even begun to remove their equipment), only Vega should fly by September before Vega C returns to flight after an investigation into his latest failure. The European launcher sector is in crisis, the director of ESA does not hide it. But the CSG, for its part, actually has a lot to do to prepare for the years to come and the gigantic site (700 km²) has a lot of subjects to deal with.
… and charged for others
First of all, it should not be thought that, because it is administered by CNES, the French Guiana site is only reserved for “traditional” space players. Since 2020, the oldest launch area, which was dedicated to the Diamant rocket in the 1970s, has been in transition: demolition, rehabilitation and works, to make it a large multi-user area for ESA and CNES, which will come to test (when they are finally ready) the reusable Callisto then Thémis demonstrators, but also for NewSpace companies.
After a selection on file last year of 7 candidates, the authorities have already announced three firm signatures for the installation of different start-ups! We will therefore find the Spaniards of PLD Space and their Miura launcher (a first prototype tried a few days ago to take off from Spain), as well as the Germans of ISAR Aerospace (Spectrum launcher) and Rocket Factory Augsbourg (FRG , with the RFA-One rocket) for takeoffs into orbit from 2025. The latter already have agreements with other “spaceports” in Europe, their signature with the CSG shows that the historic site still has many advantages!
The ramp-up of “big” launchers
Besides, it’s not just newcomers to welcome. The Ariane 6 and Vega C launchers are not regularly singing their music at the moment, but you should know that this will not last forever! During a conference yesterday at the Paris Air Show, an Arianespace manager recalled that there are currently already 28 launches in the Ariane 6 order book, and that the partners hope to have carried out as many by 2027. , with a rate that will reach 9 to 10 shots per year for the new large launcher.
Also yesterday, the industrial manager (Avio) of the Vega rocket indicated a hoped-for increase in rate of up to 6 firings per year in the years to come. The Guiana Space Center, which has never exceeded a dozen take-offs each year, is already preparing for it. This involves ground installations for assembly, but also electronic firing equipment, simulation, ground radars, the preparation of no-fly zones, and jobs, because it will not just be a question of ‘Press a button.
A green lung that launches rockets
The CSG finally wants to stand out by remaining a protected natural area, which may seem strange to the eye of the neophyte, because a priori the business of rocket launches does not seem particularly ecological. But of the 700 km² of the site, only 5% bear the imprint of this industry. The rest is divided into large exclusion zones and nature reserves, within which, however, we regularly find jungle-colored commandos among the animals.
Several studies have shown that the latter are relatively undisturbed by launches, and cameras at the site have already captured images of sloths and even jaguars in the area. Research carried out with bees studies pollution, water resources for new deluge systems (such as that for Ariane 6) are filtered and reinjected into a small artificial lake, while old areas already cleared house installations solar pilots.
The challenge is there: we will have to safeguard this balance while preparing for a rise in power such as the center has never known. And succeed in attracting young shoots while ensuring rapid campaigns for all (because in the United States and on private spaceports, business turns quickly).
But that’s also what planning is for… and very quiet years!
Source : FRG Space
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