Kourou, French Guiana

As expected the waves disappeared as we entered the river to Kourou. We did some minor provisioning here but the lack of taxis and busses and the French language discouraged much exploration.  Tom walked to an internet café/bar and met an English speaking man who was quite helpful.  A few beers later, he called the space center and made us reservations for a tour (in English) and even agreed to come by the docks and pick us up at 7:30 in the morning to drive us to the center. Very nice although we got nervous when he was 20 minutes late.

We had a pleasant day out at the Guyanais Space Center and a 3-hour bus tour of the facility. The French began building the Guyanais Space Center in 1964 in Kourou in French Guiana for its strategic location only five degrees from the equator and on the Atlantic Ocean. 

The speed at which the earth spins varies upon your latitudinal location on the planet. If you're standing at the North Pole, the speed is almost zero but at the equator, where the circumference of the earth is greatest, the speed is about 1,038 miles per hour. This extra speed helps create a ‘slingshot’ effect and increase momentum.  The Guyanais Space Center launches, on average are 17 percent more efficient than sites located further away from the equator. 

 

In 1975 when the European Space Agency (ESA) was developed, France offered to share the Guyanais Space Center. Since the 1980s, the Guyanais Space Center has launched over two-thirds of the world’s commercial satellite into space.

There are 3 different rockets currently launched at the space center. The most powerful delivery vehicle is the French Ariane 5 (for 5^th generation) that can carry 10 tons into space.  This rocket uses two solid fuel side rockets and two hydrogen-oxygen engines.  It was interesting to see the massive water tower and the multiple pipe outlets to dump water at the base of the rocket. The water system floods the launch table with thousands of gallons of water at liftoff to protect against the violent acoustic vibrations and cooling of the fire associated with the launch. We could see no burn marks at the launch pad.

 

The second launch system is the Soyuz which can send 3 to 5 tons depending on the desired orbit.  This rocket uses a kerosene and oxygen mix for fuel.  This rocket uses no cooling water during the launch and we could see the scorch marks on the solid granite pad.  Russia manufactures the Soyuz rocket. This same rocket design sent the first satellite into orbit (Sputnik in 1957), the first living being into orbit (Laïka the dog that same year), the first man (Yuri Gagarin in 1961) and the first woman (Valentina Tereshkova in 1963) into space.

The third launch system is the Italian Vega which can launch 1.5 tons.  It is very new and only started launching last year.  This rocket uses only solid fuel and cooling water during the launch.

Our English-speaking guide and air conditioned bus took us for a 3 hour tour where we saw all three launch sites and control rooms. We also saw the sites where the rocket and satellite loads are assembled. 

Sadly our time in French Guiana didn't coincide with a launch; apparently they are quite something to see.  There was a Soyuz launch 2 days before we arrived, but we later spoke with some cruisers who said that the clouds were so heavy that they only saw a bright glow in the sky. They currently have about 12 launches per year. The next launch was scheduled in 2 weeks but we were all ready to move on.  Follow along, Dear reader, as we head deep up a river in Suriname.

Tom