Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana

[@stevenwellesley]

Good luck ESA, hope you can achieve reusability as well, don't stop at Ariane 6 and Vega.

[@krzysiekm8631]

Good Luck ESA and all Europe, best wishes from Poland 🇵🇱🇪🇺

[@patrickgastaldon9647]

It's refreshing how when talking about space, co-operation and unity comes natural to everyone, no matter where they come from.

[@3Dcut]

this Video gave a motivationboost to study a bit longer today (mechanical engineering)

[@StefanoLinguanotto]

But we took a break to watch this 😅. Have a nice evening, colleague

[@JustOdie]

Keep it up! -from random dude on the internet

[@judemorgan9362]

3Dcut, Go for it! I’m in the same boat btw (aerospace engineering) and this comment motivated me to study longer today. Thank you.

[@pneumonoultramicroscopicsi4065]

I wish i didn't do medicine

[@bogenriederlukas]

Yeah, same here. You guys motivated me to waste 5min of my study time reading the discussion and thinking of something I could write.

[@sirhamsterlot7736]

So who’s here from battlefield, trust me this video will blow up when battlefield *launches*

[@omgkennyisliving]

Awesome, looking so forward to the first Ariane 6 launch!

[@EuropeanSpaceAgency]

So are we! 😉

[@vimalramachandran]

@@EuropeanSpaceAgency When is it scheduled for?

[@tma2001]

@@vimalramachandran at 4:00 he said maiden flight this year. Full operational capacity in 3 years - what the hell are they all going to do when SpaceX is churning out 2 Starships a _week_ by then ?

[@vimalramachandran]

@@tma2001 Both have different priorities. Starship is for lifting heavy loads to the Moon & Mars on a very frequent basis, whereas Ariane is for launching ordinary satellites into orbit every now and then.

[@antalz]

@@vimalramachandran Still pretty risky when SpaceX can just reprogram a starship to do that exact job. Ariane 6 already has only very few things it can do that the already-flying Falcon heavy can not. The only thing Falcon Heavy can not do that I'm aware of, is lift >5ton payloads to geostationary. Anything LEO Falcon heavy has more payload capacity. But then how many people are still making such heavy satelites for geostationary? Those things themselves may become useless if Starlink works out. In my opinion Ariane 6 is a 2 billion euro boondoggle. It's a real shame what has become of European space tech, Ariane had a nice position but they got lazy. They're only now doing a half-assed attempt to implement reusability, but they don't want to commit to it, because building rockets creates jobs, even though that makes 0 economic sense, it's a classic broken window fallacy.

[@asiomiura4936]

You have something to be proud of!

[@FloweijFR]

Yea but our country still sux tho

[@mlc4495]

I love the fact that my country Ireland can lay claim to having a space program thanks to European cooperation. I look forward to the day when we are sending European astronauts to space from Kourou.

[@SamYTB26]

it's thanks to France

[@SamYTB26]

@P y yeah i know but none of this would be possible without French Guiana, which is ideally located close to the equator.

[@SamYTB26]

@P y Nop this is a shithole, this is just a big french military base in South America

[@mlc4495]

@@SamYTB26 The EU should consider taking control of French Guyana then if France is unwilling to invest in such a vitally important EUROPEAN spaceport. Because if France neglects this colony then they will likely declare independence and we'll lose access to Kourou.

[@peletsoivre9110]

@@mlc4495 Dude, the inhabitants are so reliant on french support, slavery could be reinstaured and they wouldn't flinch. Also, It's quite arrogant to think the EU would take care better of this land than the one which administrates it for centuries. It's not "Europe" that built the station but France. It's not "Europe" that suffers an economic deficit from this land but France. It's not "european" soldiers who lose their lives fighting against traffickers in the jungle but rather the french. It's not "Europe" that sends humanitarian aid when a catastrophe hits guinana but France.

[@ionutgur]

This was a great oportunity to explain newcomers the gravitational force and why it s preferable to launch from the ecuator

[@florentpef503]

Thank you for the video. Very interesting and it really makes you want to work in aerospace 😍.

[@EuropeanSpaceAgency]

Thank you for watching, Florent!

[@HellBringer556]

Ah yes Orbital the map on battlefield 2042 irl.

[@totalguardian1436]

Nah that's Tanegashima

[@ioptia]

This is Europa at it’s best I’m from the Netherlands and very proud of ESA. We need to go to the moon.

[@EuropeanSpaceAgency]

That's the plan! 😉

[@vialoux33]

* It's France at its best

[@TheMacpad]

@@vialoux33 no ESA is a european corporation located all over europe (head quarter in Paris, control center in southern Germany etc.)

[@backintimealwyn5736]

@@TheMacpad It's France, the EU only takes credits . The french built this , the french are working on it , everyone is french in the station. The EU is good for nothing . There is not one EU project . Everything good (ariane, army,; nuclear disuasion , airbus, nuclear energy) is stolen from France.

[@movax20h]

Looking forward for first Ariane 6 launch this year. And JWST launch next year. Many other awesome launches around.

[@l.m.p.t.8645]

1. I’m really cheerful and proud of our Space independence, intelligent cooperation and wisdom in use. 2. When will you launch our first Ariane 6? 3. Could one be present and admire the launch? 🇪🇺

[@TheRubsi]

Thank you peoiple of French Guiana for letting us maintain a spaceport in your country.

[@backintimealwyn5736]

Stupidity. Why would it be their country , they are all imported.

[@leaderprice_2980]

Bro french Guiana is not a country

[@sebastian.su935]

Cant wait to see the new facility for the Ariane 6 😀😀👍

[@phvaguiar]

I hope to see a manned mission from Guiana

[@cashkaval]

ESA is amazing and interesting. So is Kelsea.

[@gsw977SoekarnoNederlands-Indie]

Greetings from Suriname🇸🇷✌

[@EuropeanSpaceAgency]

Hello from space! 👋

[@gsw977SoekarnoNederlands-Indie]

@@EuropeanSpaceAgency Thank U for answering back to my reply.💓🙏🏼👋😍. PS: Take me with you to space! Life sucks down here!

[@Cybernaut551]

ESA keeps achieving goals.

[@mariadaluzmoutinho5701]

Oh, é uma maravilha a grandeza e amplitude deste lugar!! Dá para pensar em grande!! Este novo projecto está na génese da condição sine qua non para o vigor da exploracão espacial!! Este vídeo é mesmo inspirador...contagiante para a exploração e a paixão pelo conhecimento., onde podemos questionar a nossa importância lugar e presença no mundo e no Universo no agora e no futuro ..Boa sorte ESA para todos os projectos ....cheios de realizações!!

[@jhanninnen]

Sou do Brasil e nosso programa espacial está parado, mas é muito empolgante poder acompanhar a evolução do programa europeu, ainda um dia vou assistir a um lançamento.

[@stephrinker5154]

Awesome ariane and awesome soyuz......

[@TitleTheTitle]

We need a peaceful worldwide space race. (=

[@AdmiralKimberlyAnnPyland]

Sending love to my dear friend Glenn Peters. I'm so proud to hear we have one there . I can't wait to see it and something I've been so interested in there w flora and fauna side project. Lyric and I love you RASTA

[@malcolmbacchus421]

Lovely pictures but difficult (almost impossible) to listen to because the unnecessary music between the commentary (and also during it) is also unnecessarily loud.

[@kirankok6845]

Go ESA nice new exiting things on the agenda

[@gvi341984]

Wish ESA did more personal videos about the people who work or something.

[@EuropeanSpaceAgency]

Have you checked our series 'Meet the experts'? kzbin.info/aero/PLbyvawxScNbvtXeWUUXvlizXvo7tcjjxc

[@gvi341984]

@@EuropeanSpaceAgency Yeah but I was looking for something a bit more casual seems like a lot to ask

[@drnugget8347]

Lol us the frenches are having a very good accent in English XD ! ps : LOVE ESA

[@alexandreintouch1847]

LOL and neither can you write in proper English ....

[@raccoonmoustache]

alexandreintouch I’m French and fluent in English, it just depends which one of us is writing.

[@alexandreintouch1847]

@D Anemon Well I'm French and I do care.. and I do not think it's about caring , more like laziness and lack of knowledge ... saying "they don't care" is the easy way out ...

[@alexandreintouch1847]

@D Anemon ouais et également se foute d'écrire correctement en fançais .... parlez pour vous même et pas au mon des français .... l'apologie de l'ignorance et de la fanéantise ...le reste du monde s'exprime en englais ...get on with it !

[@alexandreintouch1847]

@D Anemon et si pourtant ... revisez votre grammaire et votre syntaxe ... allez ciao !

[@aut_zero_0120]

Where can i send my application

[@winterghost96]

Battlefield 2042 brought me here

[@EuropeanSpaceAgency]

Welcome to the channel!

[@radoslawkujawski3064]

keep going guys !!!!!! 🤗

[@gokulnathg5801]

Waiting that time machine James Webb Space Telescope launching ❤️❤️❤️😍😻

[@vimalramachandran]

Waiting with bated breath for the launch of JWST next year.

[@alcosound]

let's hope that Arianespace will launch it perfectly, it has sucked enormous money

[@matpk]

@@alcosound Compare 1930s Nazi Germany Vs 2020s Communist Chinazi IN YOUR NEXT VIDEO Project before it's too late

[@chillguy1001]

Videos like this are what got me interested in space exploration and made me want to persuade a career in Aerospace engineering. I hope you will se me work there in a couple of years.

[@MrAvalon3012]

wow...that´s great…

[@marciano4696]

I was there mechanical INGERNERING chauffeur from suriname 🇸🇷 KWATAWEG to frans GUANA esa from 2015 tot 2021 7 January 9 :41 we did a 👍 great job 👏 my and my dad

[@宮路次郎-n6w]

Thank you very much. good

[@EuropeanSpaceAgency]

Thanks for watching!

[@anjedewrance3058]

Thank you.

[@jitendrakhasiya2645]

Thank you

[@gunner678]

Bravo!

[@A_humble_glowing_man-1980-dede]

I saw the launch in the sky all the way from suriname

[@KevinP32270]

EPIC. i never knew.

[@smashexentertainment676]

Any plans for manned missions? Or just payloads to the orbit?

[@Ajax1984]

Europe doesn't do manned missions unless someone else does the hard work. IE: NASA or Russia.

[@mlc4495]

@@Ajax1984 Don't be an arse! Europe has the second largest space budget after NASA and has contributed modules, astronauts and resupply ships to the ISS.

[@alcosound]

Adriane 6 is not designed with the required room for safety, because that would add a serious cost for every launch.

[@rat_king-]

Colonisation... wonderful

[@cn8299]

Yeah because the Guianians are fiercely fighting a war for independence from France...

[@eduardopadilla5505]

Interesting video.

[@pinaky_AnVikSiki]

Future awakening..

[@gilsondekazan6852]

The Satélites of Brazil is Lanches in Orbit There IS.

[@mihaimircu]

Coll!

[@stevengarcia4534]

Very good esa

[@samuelmuseth8334]

Thank you ESA for doing important work. Would it be possible for you to buy the scientific results from SpaceX then you could make a rocket that can take off and land again, wouldnt that be economically beneficial? :)

[@kuboteusz]

OK, so how to visit our spaceport?

[@Toll7_s1904]

...reusability?🤤🙃 Greetings from Germany, i would love to work in the space industry after school...🚀

[@GonkDroid0923]

ESA is like the quiet kid in the back. The USA and Soviet Union (now Russia) are in the front getting all the attention.

[@alcosound]

Nice job. I would like to see reusable launchers and a major cost reduction of launching stuff to space, and maybe a Hermes-like spaceplane...

[@oaktadopbok665]

Did they have to build this in a rainforest?

[@UltraRiot5]

No they didn't. But it was the best solution. Launching rocket from area closer to equator greatly reduces the amount of fuel you need.

[@vimalramachandran]

Launching rockets from the equator gives rockets the maximum boost since earth's rotational velocity is maximum at the equator.

[@CriticalRoleHighlights]

With rain forests covering most of the planet, I'd say you're lacking an appreciation for how little this actually matters.

[@dandavidson4717]

The location makes sense because it is a European country that's not a part of mainland Europe, and the location (unlike mainland Europe) allows for launching safely over the unpopulated ocean instead of over the densely populated European mainland. An environmental assessment is made after each launch, and periodically throughout the year. Wildlife (including fish and birds), air, water, soil, plants, and acoustic/vibrations are all monitored and assessed. The area is a protected area as a result of the launch site (a 700sq kilometre area), and as such it's also well protected for the wildlife in that area. I'm unsure if any particular precautions are taken prior to each launch, but Europe is pretty good at environmental protection so I'd hope so. I know in other launch sites in the US that precautions are taken, such as no launches being made from Vandenburg during the seal pupping season, and at Kennedy Space Centre a wildlife reserve exists within the area, so they use sirens and sound cannons prior to launch to scare off birds - they even use radar to monitor for birds in the area prior to launch. I'd argue that the spaceport is of overall significantly beneficial to the environment in the country, as it directly results in a 700 square kilometre area of protection and stringent environmental monitoring. The economic benefits also directly benefit the area, as the launch site accounts for 25% of French Guiana's GDP. That's enough of an economic benefit that results in significantly less deforestation in the country, as people work for launching rockets in an environmentally protected area, and not cutting down trees.

[@Bloblom]

It's built very close to the shore where the Amazon rainforest is naturally less dense. You should look it up on a map

[@eze2766]

Orbital battlefield 2042

[@anjedewrance3058]

Still Counting .

[@rajratnachintore8159]

My dream only on space

[@ThePLAYBC]

They should take on bigger projects like manned missions

[@alcosound]

ESA is focusing on science more than human spaceflight. At the moment, they prefer to cooperate with NASA and others in such projects (human spaceflight is very costly)

[@tommorriskutscher9084]

We need a manned spacecraft

What's the impact of the loud rocket launches on the surrounding fauna?

[@dandavidson4717]

An environmental assessment is made after each launch, and periodically throughout the year. Wildlife (including fish and birds), air, water, soil, plants, and acoustic/vibrations are all monitored and assessed. The area is a protected area as a result of the launch site (a 700sq kilometre area), and as such it's also well protected for the wildlife in that area. I'm unsure if any particular precautions are taken prior to each launch, but Europe is pretty good at environmental protection so I'd hope so. I know in other launch sites in the US that precautions are taken, such as no launches being made from Vandenburg during the seal pupping season, and at Kennedy Space Centre a wildlife reserve exists within the area, so they use sirens and sound cannons prior to launch to scare off birds - they even use radar to monitor for birds in the area prior to launch. Hope that helps. I'd love to hear from ESA as to the details, though :).

[@vincedhilandulay7798]

Very great to see Humanity has come so far to stabbing each other by sticks to launching highly advance machinery that helps Science and Humanity.

[@sourabhkarmakar8040]

From Asphalt 8 : Airborne 😁

[@AiRPasternak]

Also from Battlefield 2042.

[@alanseymour1252]

A map display of French Guiana in relation to South America and the equator would have been especially useful.

[@mr.ripley3846]

Only if ESA provides reusability to their rockets they have a chance to stay in the commercial market, because american private space companies are emerging very fast and I'm not talking about SpaceX, there are several other. SpaceX set the new standard of reusability and every company seems to follow this achievement. It's not a secret that Ariane 6 is already outdated. So please ESA, don't loose your grip, make 100% reusability a goal.

[@jchrg2336]

Nieuwe missie, een rapport verslag van de dagelijkse gebeurtenissen in en rondom de basis!

[@EuropeanSpaceAgency]

Thanks for the suggestion! We'll keep it in mind for future productions

[@jchrg2336]

@@EuropeanSpaceAgency what would be my beginning options for as a maintenance worker close to home. A easy job for an easy person.

[@heathersheen40897]

I came from Asphalt 8

[@lordvanilla8075]

Please for the love of god take care of the James Web telescope.

[@anjedewrance3058]

Tec spk english Translation All you spelt Home Wrong Sir I

[@lfcfan9353]

So Europe’s spacesport is in America?

[@ermannobellini]

This is not ESA's space centre, but ESA's spaceport. ESA's space centre is in Paris, France.

[@dandavidson4717]

It's in France, in the part of France that happens to be in South America. The reason for this is to prevent launching rockets over densely populated land, where it could be very dangerous. This way they launch over the uninhabited ocean instead.

[@jeremytaylor3532]

I don't see why this super XL Beluga cannot fly the James Webb Telescope to Fr Guinea they would just need to make a lightweight aluminum transport frame / case and add some extra fuel tanks to extend the flight range. Apparently the space port does not have it's own landing strip. However it has multiple straight roads that could easily be paved wider. And a temporary military radar control tower used to allow the beluga XL to land directly. Thereby avoiding all the crappy bridges between the regular airfield and the spaceport. This would be a tremendous upgrade for the spaceport, as the future of space travel lies with reusable rockets and it would give the space port a way to rapidly repatriate these large components.

[@Sedna063]

The JWST travels in a special container that is too large for any cargo plane.

[@jeremytaylor3532]

@@Sedna063 you may not be up to date on how large air transporters have gotten. They can fly 3 complete dreamliner wings at a time

[@Sedna063]

@@jeremytaylor3532 You may not be aware how large that damn thing is. And it is quite heavy. It doesn’t fit inside a C5 galaxy.

[@jeremytaylor3532]

@@Sedna063 The C5 galaxy is fairly small in the world of super sized transporter planes. It wasn't even the largest back in the 1980's and that's 40 yeats ago.

[@Sedna063]

@@jeremytaylor3532 Ah, but size isn’t the only thing. The STTARS shipping module is 33.5 x 4.6 x 5.5 meters in dimensions and weighs over 76000 kilos when empty. While is can be carried, it is very hard without the corresponding infrastructure. And the journey from the airport to Kourou would have been a ver challenging one. It was ultimately easier to use a ship.

[@10minlaterugotdropoed88]

Lol came here from Battlefield 2042

[@wtfisthat1022]

same

[@cbale2000]

"Europe's Spaceport"... *has to cross an ocean to get to it on a continent on the other side of the planet*

[@CriticalRoleHighlights]

It's in France and it's paid for by European nations. I really don't see why it would matter if there's an ocean involved or not. The best place for a spaceport will always be the best place for a spaceport no matter where on the planet it is, and the best place is the equator because it requires less fuel. The Earth's rotational force (which is greatest at the equator) aids in rocket launches.

[@alcosound]

It's almost impossible to launch something from mainland Europe without your booster falling to neighboring countries...

[@dandavidson4717]

Unless we do what China does and launch over land, where there are populated areas, this location makes sense. It's still a part of Europe, even if it's in a different continent.

[@omineol9897]

@@CriticalRoleHighlights its not paid by all of the country France paid 80% of it because its still owned by France end esa always fail to pay its contribution to maintaining the center so France has always to pay the big check

[@Sylgwael]

Et en Français pour les pouyeux qui paie leur impôts ?

[@Diegomax22]

Et qui finance le centre et leur donne l’accès au territoire...

[@Quetzalcoatlv3]

7:39 There is a Polish flag (2nd from the left) but on the rocket 2:50 there is no Polish flag. Why is that? No funds from Poland? Reach out to our government! :) We want to participate in ESA and scientific development event if our politicians doesn't know about that.

[@qanniqtuq]

Poland is part of the ESA since 2015. Ariane 6 is developed by Arianegroup. ESA and Arianegroup are 2 different entity.

[@mlc4495]

@@qanniqtuq The Ariane rocket family is owned by ESA who contract out the manufacture and launch services to ArianeSpace, a majority owned subsidiary of ArianeGroup, itself owned 50/50 by Airbus and Saffron. This is similar to how NASA and the US Air Force will contract out launch services to the likes of ULA (Boeing and Lockheed Martin). The key difference here of course is that Ariane 6 is OWNED by ESA, they developed the rocket and then have Airbus' subsidiary ArianeSpace make and launch it for customers. The Delta and Atlas rockets are owned by Boeing/Lockheed. FWIW Europe's space sector is hideously complex. ESA is an intergovernmental organisation unaffiliated with the EU, although there are links. Airbus is a private company but is set up in such a way where its space and defence manufacturing is located across Europe based on each country's contributions towards ESA. So France and Germany get the bulk of contracts because they put in the most money to ESA. This is why ESA is not an agency of the EU, like NASA is an agency of the US. The EU would put a total stop to this workshare arrangement in Europe's space industry because it breaks a ton of rules on state aid and competition practices. It's horribly inefficient, wasteful and contributing to Europe's long term decline in the global space sector. If it wasn't for ESA guaranteeing Airbus/ArianeSpace a fixed number of flights the whole industry in Europe would have collapsed by now thanks to SpaceX completely shaking up the industry. Russia has virtually abandoned the commercial spade launch market due to being unable to compete with SpaceX. It's only a matter of time before the same happens to ArianeSpace unless they radically change direction. Completely privatising the Ariane launcher and allowing Airbus to vastly simplify its governance structure to be more like SpaceX would go a long way to improving competitiveness. ESA itself should be made a full agency of the EU and all national spade agencies fully rolled into ESA.

[@henrytjernlund]

SpaceX has put everyone in the world off balance. What if once Starship is being used that some of the Falcon system is moved to French Guiana? FG is still in the Americas. It might be a good merging of efforts. (Or some of the Starship launches are moved there. The spacecraft could actually be flown to the site.)

[@alcosound]

I doubt it, ITAR restrictions and logistics are a big obstacle

[@caladanian]

What about further plans additional to Ariane 6, Vega C and a small launcher? ...no plans of reusability?

[@hilwaamanamankiyar-pp5bf]

ROBERT

[@DAVIDBLADE94NVIDIA]

[@fadlya.rahman4113]

Not really ideal to any orbit. Launching to polar orbit will benefit greatly from launch site close to the poles.

[@aaronjacobs3980]

Yeah but the ariane 5's main destination is GTO, where a launch site near the equator is perfect

[@avigdonable]

Hello there, Kelsea Brennan Wessels ;p

[@EuropeanSpaceAgency]

👋

[@ryojiro6553]

YEAH POLLUTE OUR ORBIT WITH TENS OF THOUSAND SATELLITES

[@jerrystrango]

the music made it unwatchable for me

[@pangaea5258]

Why does all ESA infrastructure look so incredibly dated. They could learn a thing or two from SpaceX's Starbase.

[@anjedewrance3058]

zoyu hi I our so journey

[@gregoryionovichpage7716]

Very sad lack of reusibility!!

[@aaronjacobs3980]

Reusability can often be a bottleneck in performance. Making a rocket Reusable isn't the only way to make a cheap launcher

[@LordOfTheBing]

Rainforest trees just meter away from a rocket fire. What could go wrong?

[@thedukeofswellington1827]

France still has a colonial foothold in the Caribbean 😆

[@Kosmonooit]

Shame none of those rockets are reusable

[@alcosound]

the use of solid rocket boosters precludes this (and the 1st stage with the Vulcain cannot throttle down enough for returning back)

[@marlene97280]

Shame us

[@onevibrationclothingandcom4502]

No lady , a land France thief and use as a prison for convicted French men,now they claim it as theirs

[@42crazyguy]

an overseas "department" of france lol

[@lordgunner2.0redandwhite19]

Its an oversea department.they are part of the EU.have every right of french citizen

[@noelxlk]

Yeah. It is. Or do you not like that? would you like it to be a colony so you have something to be angry at?

[@42crazyguy]

@@noelxlk bro I just thought the wording was funny cool your jets.

[@ryojiro6553]

why Europeans speak like they got their tongues cut/split into two? or is like they got something in their mouth? eating food while talking?

[@noelxlk]

european is not a language

[@lonniedobbins778]

Destroy another tropical paradise.

[@Leicht_Sinn]

Well compared to the fuel saved some trees won't change the world look even Mr Breat 10 million trees are nothing which will impact the clima

[@lonniedobbins778]

@@Leicht_Sinn You think only the trees will die there? What do you know about the construction of a Space Launch Facility? The Area That Must Be Cleared Is Not The Only Thing Destroyed! Animals And Their Habitats Are Destroyed Too! The chemicals used poison the environment! *THE HOT WATER ADDS TO CLIMATE CHANGE, Along With Any Nuclear Reactors, (people are not educated that super hot particles are released, Uranium HALF-LIFE of 4 Billion Years, tritium is dangerous for 100 years, glow in the dark stuff is made from.) No Doubt Will Be Used. You know how much water is used to launch a rocket? That's Not Smoke You See!

[@dandavidson4717]

@@lonniedobbins778 An environmental assessment is made after each launch, and periodically throughout the year. Wildlife (including fish and birds), air, water, soil, plants, and acoustic/vibrations are all monitored and assessed. The area is a protected area as a result of the launch site (a 700sq kilometre area), and as such it's also well protected for the wildlife in that area. I'm unsure if any particular precautions are taken prior to each launch, but Europe is pretty good at environmental protection so I'd hope so. I know in other launch sites in the US that precautions are taken, such as no launches being made from Vandenburg during the seal pupping season, and at Kennedy Space Centre a wildlife reserve exists within the area, so they use sirens and sound cannons prior to launch to scare off birds - they even use radar to monitor for birds in the area prior to launch. I'd argue that the spaceport is of overall significantly beneficial to the environment in the country, as it directly results in a 700 square kilometre area of protection and stringent environmental monitoring. The economic benefits also directly benefit the area, as the launch site accounts for 25% of French Guiana's GDP. That's enough of an economic benefit that results in significantly less deforestation in the country, as people work for launching rockets in an environmentally protected area, and not cutting down trees.

[@gringologie9302]

@@lonniedobbins778 actually, french guiana is the most protected amazonia Forest area by law. Launch are rare, launcher site isnt big compare how city area and consequences can be. In fact, the biggest current problem for this part of the world (in an eco friendly point of view) is the illegal Gold miner, who just destroy using chimical process everywhere.

[@lukasdutli3473]

@@lonniedobbins778 only the area directly round it is cleared. The Rest of this whole territory is covered in forest and it's being protected very well. Just look at Google maps and you will see, the spaceport is very small compared to the forest

[@slevinshafel9395]

You say is EUROPE space port but its not in EUROPE continent so i need fly overther exchange euro to local curency. For me dont look like EUROPE SPACE PORT. Look more like advance space port owned by ESA.

[@shinyagumon7015]

Spaceports have to be located near the Equator and Europe is no Way near it, but French Guiana is the closes european Territory. Also because it's technically a Part of France it has the Euro as it's Currency.

[@vimalramachandran]

Rockets have to be launched from near the equator because earth rotates with maximum speed at the equator. So rockets gain maximum momentum when they're launched in the direction of Earth's rotation.

[@terrysullivan1992]

The citizens are actually very proud of being French. One would be unwise to speak otherwise if there. It's a bit ironic but true.

[@alcosound]

Arianespace is not ESA. ESA is a customer of Arianespace

[@julius6103]

First Comment :)

[@Zamzam_Dubrazil]

Toi t'es français...

[@tma2001]

What are all you guys going to do when Elon is launching Starship upto 20 times a day in a few years time ? He intends to build a production line that can churn out hundreds of ships a year ! and ESA might have something partially reusable by the end of the decade ?

[@alcosound]

ESA (the main customer of Arianespace), unfortunately cannot use such a large launch capacity at the moment. Developing a mission like the Solar Orbiter takes twenty years and lots of money, the launch costs are a small part of the total.

[@tma2001]

@@alcosound yeah I knew that - a slip on my part - although in the public-private partnership, ESA are providing the bulk of the funding for Ariane 6.

[@alcosound]

@@tma2001 I suppose that's similar to NASA providing funding for the development of Falcon 9, as a main customer

[@tma2001]

@@alcosound except NASA /Federal gov. are not part shareholders in SpaceX as is the case with the ArianeSpace division of Airbus (over 25% controling european states share).

[@ARISTOSMGS]

im proud of esa but u guys need to take note's from spacex and go reusable or otherways you gonna be out ofbusiness

[@alcosound]

ESA is not a commercial entity, Arianespace is the one selling launches

[@anonb4632]

Kapustin Yar near Astrakhan actually is in Europe, unlike this spaceport.

[@Tagadarealty]

What the point ? Kourou is one of the best spot for a spaceport and right now probably the best commercial spaceport available. You cant be efficient with a spaceport in Europe not enough good spot.

[@anonb4632]

@@Tagadarealty It's not Europe's space port because it's not actually in Europe. Might as well claim the Woomera Nuclear tests occurred in Europe.

[@Tagadarealty]

@@anonb4632 It's a french territory which is member of the European union... So yes, it's an European spaceport.

[@thine-be-the-ghoul]

If you want to launch anything into space ''easily''. The best place to do that is to be as closer to the Equator as possible. When a rocket achieves escape velocity, the spin of our planet can further help and sort of push the rocket. You wont find an ideal place in Europe to build a spaceport. It's too densely populated and the cost of launching anything will be far greater, not counting the risks that come with a launch from a very populated area. When you take all of this into account, French Guiana is probably the best place to build a space port. It doesn't matter that the port is not in Europe, French Guiana is still part of France and the Union.

[@anonb4632]

@@Tagadarealty It's not in Europe. Also Europe =/= the EU. Do you think Switzerland is non-European?

[@lagunadeortises]

french Guiana! French people are you still proud in 2020 to carry on colonialism?

[@dandavidson4717]

Nothing inherently wrong with colonies, they just have a dark history. At this point, if they're happy to be a part of France, what's wrong with that? This spaceport also accounts 25% of the GDP of French Guiana, so at this point they're benefiting greatly from it. I can't speak for them, of course, but there's a good chance they also now identify as French. Calling out the French for colonialism just doesn't make sense in this case. If there's ever a movement for independence, then you can bring up the topic again ;).

[@Bloblom]

Guiana is one of the French colonies that actually doesn't mind being a colony at all. The only time they complain is when private companies pollute the Amazon Rainforest, and unlike a colony they are part of the French Republic as a region, like Normandy or Britanny, they get the same treatment as mainland French citizens with free healthcare, free education, retirement pensions, social benefits, lots of jobs thanks to ESA, etc etc... You shouldn't stop at "colony" and then start complaining, this is one example of colonialism that worked for both people.

[@noelxlk]

because the French Guianians are fiercely fighting a war of independence right?