S5 payload preparation facilities under construction

From 4 July 2023 until June 2024, the S5 EPCU buildings will be getting a facelift. Although it is the most modern of all Europe’s spaceport's payload preparation facilities, the S5 EPCU has aged since it was built some twenty years ago.

The air conditioning systems therefore needed to be modernised, given the risk of obsolescence. This will make the facilities even more energy-efficient and ensure that the base remains attractive to the space industry.

The facilities will be completely refurbished in all the S5 EPCU buildings: from the filling, preparation and transit halls to the technical and propellant rooms, including the changing rooms, offices, customer terminals, storage areas and the guard post.

Ultimately, this renovation project will help to:

- migrate and interface air-conditioning control with the Centralised Technical Management (GTC) in line with Europe’s spaceport's new standards; this consists in integrating the existing HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air-conditioning) systems into a single comprehensive control system to optimise building management and reduce energy consumption;

- manage overpressure air flows to have a more precise control of pressure gradients between zones, avoiding any risk of pollution of the clean rooms by other rooms;

- strengthen particulate and organic control by adding molecular filtration on the fresh air boxes;

- better control ambient conditions (temperature, humidity, pressure) using pre-established configurations and adding energy-saving modes for periods of inactivity;

- make hydraulic modifications to the chilled water plant and air-handling terminals, significantly reducing electricity consumption. 

These modifications will ensure the safe operation of the refrigeration units and pave the way for the move towards more sustainable chilled water production. (Connection to the Kourou 1 Biomass cogeneration plant is planned for the medium term).

Thanks to the work currently under way, the use of the facilities will be more flexible. This will make it easier to manage periods of site inactivity between two customers. The work carried out will also improve the site's cleanliness by adding molecular filtration to the air-conditioning equipment in the rooms to combat particulate and organic contamination.

"It will be possible to easily activate a more efficient operating configuration during periods of inactivity than the only setting previously available. If we consider that the annual occupancy rate of EPCU S5 is 50%, i.e. six months, this will generate an estimated energy savings of 450,000 kWh"

Frédéric PRADIER, Air conditioning technical manager at the French space agency, project leader

About

The Payload Preparation Facilities (EPCU) comprise several buildings that receive and prepare payloads (satellites and instruments), from their arrival in French Guiana right through to launch. The conditioning of a satellite requires particular care because of its fragility. The temperature required by the customer and the cleanliness of the rooms must be maintained at all times. The configuration of the clean rooms is therefore designed to avoid any contamination that could damage the satellite's equipment during preparation and once in orbit.