February 17, 2023

Facilities

Just like an airport, where planes are rockets and passengers are satellites, the GSC includes all the facilities necessary for the preparation, monitoring, launch and tracking of the launcher and its passengers.
L'ensemble de lancement Ariane n°3 vu du ciel

Ariane and Vega launch complexes

The launchers that lift off from the GSC are, for their preparation, entitled to a complex of facilities adapted to their specific characteristics.

Transfert d'un étage d'accélération à poudre d'Ariane 5

Production and preparation of launcher stages

While some of the components of the launchers arrive in French Guiana by ship, other components, such as certain stages, are produced and prepared at the GSC. The centre also has several plants for producing gases and fluids which are essential to the launch sequence and pre-launch preparation operations.

Le satellite Metop en préparation au CSG

Satellite preparation

Before the launch, the satellites are prepared in cleanroom facilities, where they are protected from dust, temperature changes and humidity.

Lâcher de ballon sonde au CSG

Weather station

The launch, and also certain preparation operations, depend on a number of meteorological parameters. The GSC has therefore had a weather station since its inception in 1968.

Le radar Bretagne-1 à Kourou

Antennas and radars

From lift-off until the satellites are put into orbit, it is essential to ensure that the launcher is working properly. A network of antennas and radars is used to perform this task.

Le Centre de contrôle Jupiter 2 lors du lancement Soyouz VS22

Jupiter Control Centre

The Jupiter Control Centre is the Guiana Space Centre’s control tower from which operations are coordinated during a launch.

Pupitre du centre de lancement Ariane 5

Launch centres

It is from the Launch centres that GSC operators control the lift-off of each launcher, in coordination with the Jupiter 2 Control Centre.

is_centre_technique.jpg

Technical Centre

Home to half of GSC’s employees, the Technical Centre is the hub for several types of GSC activities, from administration and logistics to launch operations.