Guiana Space Centre

Guiana Space Centre

Centre spatial guyanais
Panoramic view of Guiana Space Centre
Agency overview
Formed	14 April 1964 (1964-04-14)
Jurisdiction	Government of France
Headquarters	Kourou, French Guiana, France
Employees	1,700 direct (2020) 7,500 indirect (2011)
Agency executive	Philippe Lier, director
Parent agency	ESA/EUSPA/CNES
Website	www.cnes-csg.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	320
Launch pad(s)	7
Launch history
Status	Active
First launch	10 March 1970 Diamant B / Mika, Wika
Last launch	9 October 2023 Vega (rocket) / THEOS-2, TRITON & Othres
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 Diamant (retired) Spectrum (future)[1] RFA One (future) Miura 5 (future) ELV launch history Status Active Launches 49 First launch 5 November 1971 Europa II / STV-4 Last launch 9 October 2023 Vega (rocket) / THEOS-2, TRITON & Othres Associated rockets Europa II (retired) Ariane 1 (retired) Ariane 2 (retired) Ariane 3 (retired) Vega (rocket) (current) 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 Ariane 3 (retired) Ariane 2 (retired) Ariane 4 (retired) ELA-3 launch history Status Inactive Launches 117 First launch 4 June 1996 Ariane 5 / Cluster FM1 Last launch 5 July 2023 Ariane 5 / Syracuse 4B & Heinrich Hertz Associated rockets Ariane 5 (Retired) ELS launch history Status Inactive Launches 27 First launch 21 October 2011 Soyuz ST-B / Galileo (satellite navigation) Last launch 10 February 2022 Soyuz ST-B / OneWeb L13 Associated rockets Soyuz ST-A (Suspended) Soyuz ST-B (Suspended)[2] ELA-4 launch history Status Active Launches 0 First launch 2024 (planned) Ariane 6 Associated rockets Ariane 6 (current)

The Guiana Space Centre (French: Centre spatial guyanais; CSG), also called Europe's Spaceport,^[3][4] 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 a suitable location for a spaceport because of its equatorial location and open sea to the east.

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.^[5][6][7] It was used by the ESA to send supplies to the International Space Station using the Automated Transfer Vehicle.