Simply northwest of Kourou lies Europes Spaceport– chosen as a base from which to introduce satellites in 1964 by the French Government, and presently house to ESA-developed rocket households Ariane and Vega.
This launch base and the jungle that surrounds it covers 690 km2. ESA owns the unique facilities built for the Ariane, Soyuz and Vega rockets, this consists of launch vehicle and satellite preparation buildings, launch operation centers and a plant for making strong propellant and incorporating solid rocket motors.
As Kourou lies just 500 km north of the equator, it makes it ideally positioned for launches into orbit as the rockets get extra efficiency thanks to a slingshot impact from the speed of Earths rotation. In addition, there is no danger of earthquakes or cyclones. This launch base and the jungle that surrounds it covers 690 sq km and protects an abundance of wildlife and plants.
At the center of the photo is the launch complex for Ariane 6, developed for ESA by the French space firm, CNES and its partners, it was inaugurated on 28 September 2021. ESAs upcoming Vega-C will use the same launch zone (visualized left) as its Vega predecessor.
From here, the largest and most effective telescope ever launched into space– the James Webb Space Telescope– is set up for launch. After liftoff, it will start a month-long journey to its location, around one and a half million kilometers from Earth.
Following the steps of the Hubble Space Telescope, Webb is designed to respond to questions about deep space and to make breakthrough discoveries in all fields of astronomy. The telescope will be able to detect infrared light produced by galaxies as they formed more than 13.5 billion years earlier, in the after-effects of the Big Bang. Webb will see further into our origins– from the Universes very first galaxies, to the birth of stars and planets, to exoplanets.
In the first month after launch, Webb will unfold its sunshield, which is around the size of a tennis court, and release its 6.5-meter primary mirror. This will be used to discover the faint light of distant stars and galaxies with a sensitivity of a hundred times greater than that of Hubble.
Webb is a joint task between NASA, ESA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
Ahead of the upcoming Ariane 5 launch of the James Webb Space Telescope, the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Kourou– house to Europes Spaceport in French Guiana, an overseas department of France. ESA owns the unique infrastructure constructed for the Ariane, Soyuz and Vega rockets, this includes launch automobile and satellite preparation buildings, launch operation facilities and a plant for making strong propellant and integrating strong rocket motors. As Kourou lies simply 500 km north of the equator, it makes it preferably put for launches into orbit as the rockets get extra efficiency thanks to a slingshot impact from the speed of Earths rotation. At the center of the picture is the launch complex for Ariane 6, constructed for ESA by the French area company, CNES and its partners, it was inaugurated on 28 September 2021. ESAs upcoming Vega-C will use the very same launch zone (envisioned left) as its Vega predecessor.
Ahead of the approaching Ariane 5 launch of the James Webb Space Telescope, the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Kourou– home to Europes Spaceport in French Guiana, an abroad department of France. Located around 60 km northwest of the French Guianese capital Cayenne, Kourou is a seaside town in the north-central part of the nation and shows up in the lower right of the image. The town lies at the estuary of the Kourou River which, after its journey of 144 km, clears into the Atlantic Ocean. Its muddy waters appear brown most likely due to sediments picked up from the surrounding forest. Credit: Contains customized Copernicus Sentinel data (2020 ), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
Ahead of the approaching Ariane 5 launch of the James Webb Space Telescope, the Copernicus Sentinel-2 objective takes us over Kourou– house to Europes Spaceport in French Guiana, an overseas department of France.
Found around 60 km northwest of the French Guianese capital Cayenne, Kourou is a seaside town in the north-central part of the nation and shows up in the lower right of the image. The town lies at the estuary of the Kourou River which, after its journey of 144 km, clears into the Atlantic Ocean. Its muddy waters appear brown more than likely due to sediments chose up from the surrounding forest.
Long, white sandy beaches line the towns ocean coast, while the riverbank and inland area consists mainly of mangrove and thick tropical rain forest. The surrounding areas economy is largely farming, with coffee, cacao, and tropical fruits being grown.