Guiana Space Centre
The Guiana Space Centre (French: Centre spatial guyanais; CSG), also called Europe's Spaceport, 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.
| Centre spatial guyanais | |
Panoramic view of Guiana Space Centre | |
| Agency overview | |
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| Formed | 14 April 1964 |
| Jurisdiction | Government of France |
| Headquarters | Kourou, French Guiana, France |
| Employees | 1,700 direct (2020) 7,500 indirect (2011) |
| Agency executive |
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| Parent agency | ESA/EUSPA/CNES |
| Website | www |
| Map | |
Map of Guiana Space Centre | |
Detailed map | |
| Coordinates | 5°10′08″N 52°41′25″W | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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. It was used by the ESA to send supplies to the International Space Station using the Automated Transfer Vehicle.