Where on Earth? Kourou

Thousands of people in cities all over Europe are working to ensure European access to space, bringing all the benefits of our wider Universe to people on Earth. This satellite photo highlights one of the cities of Ariane 6, where people are working to make Europe’s new heavy-lift rocket, Ariane 6, fly.

Europe's Spaceport is situated in the northeast of South America in French Guiana, an overseas department of France, near the village of Kourou. Kourou lies at latitude 5°3', just over 500 km north of the equator.

The area covers 700 km2, roughly the same area as Berlin city in Germany, and Ariane 6 is just one of the rockets launching from this spaceport. ELA4 is the ninth launch zone built here where the adventure to space starts.

Its nearness to the equator makes it ideally placed for launches into geostationary transfer orbit as few changes have to be made to a satellite’s trajectory.

Built and operated by France’s space agency CNES, the launch complex at the Ariane 6 launch zone – called ELA4 – was built from the ground up at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Building on the success and lessons learnt from the previous launch zones, the new infrastructure allows for quick processing and a launch cadence of one Ariane 6 a month and has been designed to lessen the site's carbon footprint and preserve local natural resources.

The site for the launch zone was chosen for its deep rocky subsoil capable of supporting the heaviest 900 tonne variant of Ariane 6 and its liftoff and the mobile gantry that surrounds Ariane 6 for final assembly. Building the launch pad started in 2015 and was completed and qualified for use in 2023.