The future

To date, ESA has invested more than €1600 million in improving and developing Europe's Spaceport at Kourou. ESA owns the Ariane launch facilities and the industrial plants. It also participates substantially to the fixed costs of Europe’s Spaceport in order to ensure its operational availability.

The spaceport at Kourou is always being updated as new launchers are introduced. Today, the spaceport is being readied for larger, more powerful versions of Ariane 5. One change is the expansion of the launch zone site so that the Ariane-5’s upper stages can be fuelled when the rocket is on the launch pad. ESA and Arianespace have also built a new complex where satellites can be checked out. This is big enough to hold the 20-tonne Automated Transfer Vehicles that will fly to the International Space Station.

Two more launchers will soon join Ariane-5. The small European Vega launcher is expected to lift off from Kourou in late 2007. ESA is spending €45 million to adapt the old Ariane-1 launch facilities (ELA-1) for its use.

Another new launch complex will soon be built for the Russian Soyuz rocket. The Soyuz site will be located 12 km northwest of the Ariane-5 launch site.