Paris Mayor visits Europe's Spaceport
Bertrand Delanoë, the Mayor of Paris, paid a visit to the Guiana Space Centre on the morning of Tuesday 7 September as part of a round tour of the French overseas departments: French Guiana, Martinique and Guadeloupe.
Fernando Doblas, Head of the ESA office at Europe’s Spaceport, Jean-Louis Marcé, Director of the Guiana Space Centre and Jean-Charles Vincent, Director of Arianespace Kourou welcomed him to the Jupiter building. First stop was the Jupiter control room where the three directors outlined the layout of the centre’s facilities, defined the roles of the main actors at the base and underlined its strategic importance in guaranteeing Europe’s independent access to space.
The visitors then headed to the launch integration building where Bertrand Delanoë was able to see the preparations underway for the launch of the Ariane 5 ESC-A launcher. Next on the agenda was the launch zone where the Mayor had a clear panoramic view over the entire base from the top of the windbreaker tower.
The visit of an eminent public figure always has an encouraging effect on the teams working at the base. The Mayor met some members of the Parisian Fire Brigade working at the Spaceport and expressed his support and pride in sharing this professional military unit and key service with the Guiana Space Centre.
Bertrand Delanoë was enthusiastic about his visit to the Spaceport and the base facilities. He remarked on the multinational dimension of the teams working on the Ariane programme, congratulated them for their dedication and wished them all the best for flight 164, scheduled for October.
The Mayor has instructed his staff to ensure that he is free to follow the launch live on television.
