Handing over the keys to the Ariane 6 launch pad

France’s space agency CNES handed over the keys to the Ariane 6 launch complex in July 2023, with ESA representatives handing them straight back to CNES in a symbolic event to commemorate the launchpad being ready for its test campaign and then launch.

The launchpad for Ariane 6 was built to specifications in Kourou, French Guiana, to accommodate all the infrastructure needed to control and launch Europe’s next generation rocket. Called ELA4 it is the fourth launchpad for the Ariane series of rockets and a new project extending over 1.5 square kilometres, requiring over 35 000 cubic metres of cement to build.

Over four days ESA and CNES personnel inspected, verified and reviewed the facilities. This included the final assembly building where the Ariane 6’s core and upper stages will be connected, hundreds of metres of underground tunnels that provide fuel and data lines, flame trenches and rooms with computers for launch monitoring.

The mobile gantry houses Ariane 6 in the last steps before launch. The 90-m tall structure was included in the review as part of the ground infrastructure. It protects the rocket from the elements and allows for payloads to be installed before the whole structure rolls away on rails to allow Ariane 6 to launch into the sky.

The cold storage of fuel, several hundred metres from the launchpad and the incredibly complex system of pipes used to provide water and fuel were inspected, as well as the water treatment facility that recuperates water used to suppress noise and vibrations on launch for reuse for the next liftoff.