Spaceport preparation campaign

The main ground facilities at the Spaceport that support an Ariane-5 flight are:

• the trajectography system used in the first phases of flight to monitor the launcher’s trajectory
• radars
• launcher telemetry acquisition system
• flight safety system - a remote control system able to destroy the launcher in flight if the trajectory is not nominal
• meteorological centre to provide weather forecasts before each flight
• optical systems to provide technical high-speed images of liftoff
• telecommunication systems to allow worldwide connections

All these facilities are checked and configured 10 days before liftoff to ensure they are able to support the launcher flight. Finally, three days before liftoff, a full-scale rehearsal takes place to test all systems.