[4][5] Commercial launches are bought also by non-European companies. ESA pays two thirds of the spaceport's annual budget and has also financed the upgrades made during the development of the
Ariane launchers.
On 4 April 2017, the centre was occupied by 30 labour union leaders in the midst of the 2017 social unrest in French Guiana, but was taken back on 24 April 2017.[6]
Kourou is located approximately 500 km (310 mi) north of the equator, at a latitude of 5°. It is a common misconception[citation needed] that the main advantage of launching a rocket from the equator is the extra boost provided by the speed of the Earth's rotation. For example, the eastward boost provided by the Earth's rotation is about 463 m/s (1,520 ft/s) at the Guiana Space Centre, as compared to about 406 m/s (1,330 ft/s) at the United States east coast Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center spaceports which are at 28°27′N latitude in Florida. This means that rockets need around 60 m/s more delta-v to reach Low Earth Orbit (LEO) from Cape Canaveral, which is an insignificant disadvantage.[7][8]
In reality, the main benefit of Kourou is that the near-equatorial launch location provides an advantage for launches to low-inclination (or geostationary) Earth orbits compared to launches from spaceports at higher latitude. This is because rockets can be launched into orbits with an inclination of as low as ~6°. The lowest inclination a rocket from Cape Canaveral could be launched to is 28.5° (the latitude of Cape Canaveral). Inclination change burns already require significant amounts of delta-v, so needing to change inclination by 28.5° seriously affects a rocket's capability to send satellites into a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). As a result of these phenomena, similarly sized Proton and Ariane 5 rockets can send similar payloads to LEO. However, the Proton, launched from high latitudes in Russia, can only send 6,270 kg to GTO while a Kourou-launched Ariane 5 can send more than 10,000 kg to GTO.[9][10] Although, the massive SpaceX Falcon Heavy makes up for the geographic disadvantage of Cape Canaveral lifting up to 26,700 kg to GTO.[1]
BEC / ELA-1 / ELV
Originally built in the 1960s under the name of Base Équatoriale du CECLES (BEC) (French: Conférence Européenne de Construction de Lanceurs et d'Engins Spatiaux, English: European conference on construction of launchers and spacecraft), the pad located at geostationary) Earth orbits compared to launches from spaceports at higher latitude. This is because rockets can be launched into orbits with an inclination of as low as ~6°. The lowest inclination a rocket from Cape Canaveral could be launched to is 28.5° (the latitude of Cape Canaveral). Inclination change burns already require significant amounts of delta-v, so needing to change inclination by 28.5° seriously affects a rocket's capability to send satellites into a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). As a result of these phenomena, similarly sized Proton and Ariane 5 rockets can send similar payloads to LEO. However, the Proton, launched from high latitudes in Russia, can only send 6,270 kg to GTO while a Kourou-launched Ariane 5 can send more than 10,000 kg to GTO.[9][10] Although, the massive SpaceX Falcon Heavy makes up for the geographic disadvantage of Cape Canaveral lifting up to 26,700 kg to GTO.[1]
Originally built in the 1960s under the name of Base Équatoriale du CECLES (BEC) (French: Conférence Européenne de Construction de Lanceurs et d'Engins Spatiaux, English: European conference on construction of launchers and spacecraft), the pad located at 5°14′10″N 52°46′30″W / 5.236°N 52.775°W / 5.236; -52.775 was designed for the Europa-II launch vehicle. One Europa-II was launched from the site, before the programme was cancelled.[citation needed]
The pad was demolished, and subsequently rebuilt as the first launch complex for Ariane rockets. Renamed ELA (later redesignated ELA-1) (French: Ensemble de Lancement Ariane-1), it was used for Ariane 1 and Ariane 2 and 3 launches until being retired in 1989.The pad was demolished, and subsequently rebuilt as the first launch complex for Ariane rockets. Renamed ELA (later redesignated ELA-1) (French: Ensemble de Lancement Ariane-1), it was used for Ariane 1 and Ariane 2 and 3 launches until being retired in 1989.[11]
In November 2001, it was renamed ELV pad (French: Ensemble de Lancement Vega) and refurbished again for the Vega rocket. The first launch was performed on 13 February 2012.[12]
The ELA-2 pad (French: Ensemble de Lancement Ariane-2), located at 5°13′55″N 52°46′34″W / 5.232°N 52.776°W / 5.232; -52.776 had been used for Ariane 4 launches until 2003.[citation needed]
ELA-3
ELA-3 (French: Ensemble de Lancement Ariane-3) has been active for Ariane 5 launches since 1996 (Ariane 501). This facility is located at 5°14′20″N 52°46′05″W / 5.239°N 52.768°W / 5.239; -52.768 and covers an area of 21 km2 (8.1 sq mi).[13]
ELA-4
ELA-4 (French: Ensemble de Lancement Ariane-4
ELA-4 (French: Ensemble de Lancement Ariane-4) is presently under construction, intended for future Ariane 6 launches. This facility is located at 5°15′45″N 52°47′27″W / 5.26258°N 52.79074°W / 5.26258; -52.79074.[14]
