Russia's Soyuz operations at French Guiana in S.Amercia

EuroLauncher · 2006-03-11 20:24:49

Guiana is the French/European spaceport for ESA missions and Ariane launches and France offered to share Kourou with ESA. Europeans built a number of launch pads over the years, the Italians had a launch site at San-Marco off the Kenya coast in Africa, the British tested rockets in Australia and the French had sent off launchers from Algeria. Kourou provided France with the alternative to the African/Arab rocket test base in Algeria, evacuated in the aftermath of the Algerian war.

The European Space Agency, the French space agency CNES as well as the commercial Arianespace company launch their satellites from Kourou. The ESA is currently building facilities for launching Russian built Soyuz rockets from this spaceport. Under the terms of a Russo-European joint venture, ESA will augment its own launch vehicle fleet with Soyuz rockets (and use them to launch ESA and/or commercial payloads) and the Russians will get access to the Kourou spaceport for launching their own payloads with Soyuz rockets.

Arianespace and Roscosmos sign contract to kick off Soyuz operations phase at Guiana Space Center
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=19000

Soyuz nearing French Guiana
http://www.cnes.fr/html/_455_463_1545_2864_.php

An exotic ocean-side coastline, near a sleepy town of Kourou, located just five degrees north of the Equator, would provide a starting point for a safe flight corridor over the Atlantic Ocean and give the rocket extra 460 meters per second in velocity from the natural Earth rotation.
http://www.russianspaceweb.com/kourou.html

EuroLauncher · 2006-03-11 20:31:25

The European Space Agency (ESA) so far is planning to use Russian Soyuz boosters to launch satellites from the Kourou cosmodrome in French Guiana, but not for manned flights.
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.htm … &PageNum=0
However, “never say never,” ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain told a press conference in the John Kennedy Space center on Cape Canaveral on Thursday.

Artist's impression of a Soyuz liftoff at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Launchers_A … ESD_1.html

Yang Liwei Rocket · 2006-03-17 06:38:50

Arianespace and Roscosmos Sign Contract for Soyuz/Guiana Space Center Project
http://www.wirelessinsightasia.com/article.asp?id=523
Jean-Yves Le Gall, CEO of Arianespace, and Anatoly Perminov, Director General of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, signed the supply contract for the first four Soyuz launch vehicles to be launched from the Guiana Space Center starting in 2008.

publiusr · 2006-03-23 15:17:48

Good to see progress being made.

Mars_B4_Moon · 2006-03-24 18:06:45

The first users' manual for Soyuz launcher missions from French Guiana is now available
http://www.arianespace.com/site/documen … index.html
http://www.arianespace.com/site/documen … al_CSG.pdf
Information on operations of the workhorse Russian launcher from Europe's Spaceport.

Rxke · 2006-03-25 04:59:35

Good to see progress being made.

Pun intended, I presume?

publiusr · 2006-03-29 15:19:44

At last, somebody got it.

EuroLauncher · 2006-10-24 15:55:13

New Russian spaceship will be able to fly to Moon - space corp.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20061018/54922208.html
Russia's Rocket and Space Corporation Energia said Wednesday it will create a new spaceship capable of flying to the Moon.
"We have started developing the final design of a modernized spaceship that has been given the working name of Soyuz-K," Nikolai Sevastyanov, the corporation's president, told RIA Novosti.
"The new version will be equipped with digital control systems and is being designed in such a way that it could be launched both from the Baikonur space center and equatorial Kourou space center, located on a peninsula in French Guiana," he said.

publiusr · 2006-10-27 13:14:32

We will see.

dicktice · 2006-11-06 11:27:29

Is that your only reaction: "We will see."? Why not: "We will buy into the Soyuz-K program, and cooperatively exploit its potential for our own purposes as well as contribute to the international effort?" We could get back to the Moon sooner and get our hands dirty--years sooner--that way. As well as upgrade their design, so as to provide the next generation of increased-capacity Earth-Moon vehicles, based upon their original success: which I have no doubt they will achieve with their typically step-by-step approach to space travel. We're handing it to them on a platter anyway, so why not take advantage of them while we get our act back together? Life (as I keep on saying) is too short to keep on starting from Square One, eh?

neviden · 2006-11-06 16:38:03

this is not as important for americans (they will develop Orion/Ares V) as it is for europeans.. human rated launcher with operational human craft.. add ariane 5 launched EDS (developed from ATV/ESC-B) and you can get to LLO..

lander is another matter, but one barebone lander could be sent by one Ariane 5/Proton/Angara 5.. 2 launches if you wanted normal lander (lander + EDS).. later, maybe even reusable lander (they would have motivation: to reduce number of flights to change lunar crews from 3-4 to 2)..

Mars_B4_Moon · 2007-03-09 14:05:59

Official opening of the Soyuz launch base construction site in French Guiana

dicktice · 2007-03-10 11:55:21

The disparate international space interests are finally coalescing at a single, common equatorial launch site. I'd say it's time to pull up our own spacesuit socks and make space, not war!

RedStreak · 2007-03-11 20:52:23

As long as the Russians keep it peaceful I don't have any arguments against a joint ESA/Russia launch site.

However, I imagine if Russia somehow weasles in an Iranian launch from that site Congress will raise hell over it - I do not know how Europe would react but, obviously, for it to happn ESA would have to agree to allow it.

Mars_B4_Moon · 2007-04-12 21:14:26

Vega a Go in 2008

neviden · 2007-05-24 05:05:37

Report for the launch of a manned Soyuz TMA from French Guyana.

http://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/gsp/c … 7030FR.pdf

ESA would have to build ground handling and transport equipment for Soyuz TMA with the price tag of 40 M euros. It would also have to organize sea rescue capabilities in the case of an abort. Other than that, there are no tehnical problems for a Soyuz TMA from Guyana.

GCNRevenger · 2007-05-24 10:21:20

The disparate international space interests are finally coalescing at a single, common equatorial launch site. I'd say it's time to pull up our own spacesuit socks and make space, not war!

Pfffft. The launch facilities at the French site are really not that big, the facility is not even the same order of magnitude as KSC.

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#1 2006-03-11 20:24:49

Re: Russia's Soyuz operations at French Guiana in S.Amercia

#2 2006-03-11 20:31:25

Re: Russia's Soyuz operations at French Guiana in S.Amercia

#3 2006-03-17 06:38:50

Re: Russia's Soyuz operations at French Guiana in S.Amercia

#4 2006-03-23 15:17:48

Re: Russia's Soyuz operations at French Guiana in S.Amercia

#5 2006-03-24 18:06:45

Re: Russia's Soyuz operations at French Guiana in S.Amercia

#6 2006-03-25 04:59:35

Re: Russia's Soyuz operations at French Guiana in S.Amercia

#7 2006-03-29 15:19:44

Re: Russia's Soyuz operations at French Guiana in S.Amercia

#8 2006-10-24 15:55:13

Re: Russia's Soyuz operations at French Guiana in S.Amercia

#9 2006-10-27 13:14:32

Re: Russia's Soyuz operations at French Guiana in S.Amercia

#10 2006-11-06 11:27:29

Re: Russia's Soyuz operations at French Guiana in S.Amercia

#11 2006-11-06 16:38:03

Re: Russia's Soyuz operations at French Guiana in S.Amercia

#12 2007-03-09 14:05:59

Re: Russia's Soyuz operations at French Guiana in S.Amercia

#13 2007-03-10 11:55:21

Re: Russia's Soyuz operations at French Guiana in S.Amercia

#14 2007-03-11 20:52:23

Re: Russia's Soyuz operations at French Guiana in S.Amercia

#15 2007-04-12 21:14:26

Re: Russia's Soyuz operations at French Guiana in S.Amercia

#16 2007-05-24 05:05:37

Re: Russia's Soyuz operations at French Guiana in S.Amercia

#17 2007-05-24 10:21:20

Re: Russia's Soyuz operations at French Guiana in S.Amercia

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