14 DAY TRIAL // The city of Kourou in French Guiana is home to the ESA Arianespace spaceport, where almost half of the world's commercial satellites are being launched from. The place is thriving financially, driving a $3.2 billion business, as its location, security, remoteness and competitive prices left the former leading player, the US, wanting. And it's not the only place of this kind doing so well, as the Chinese or the Russians have their own plans for the future.
Arianespace is located on the northeastern part of the South American continent, in the French Guiana. With the Americans and Russians firmly controlling the race involving Moon trips and military satellite efforts, the Europeans from the ESA (European Space Agency) were left with the alternative of focusing on commercial satellite launches – and a good alternative it was. Now, as Peter Redfield, an anthropologist who studies French Guiana says, “France found a use for one of the pieces of confetti left over from its empire, while the Americans, after the lunar missions, are still asking what to do for an encore,” quotes the NY Times.
Kourou was chosen in 1964 out of 15 sites as the best place to launch satellites from and was later shared with the ESA (formed in 1975) who, in turn, provided about two thirds of the annual budget of the spaceport. Kourou is situated at 5°3' latitude, only 500 km to the north of the Equator, making it a perfect launch spot, as the planet's rotation is faster at the Equator. This enhances the slingshot effect of the satellite launch process (enhances the speed of the launchers by 1,656 km/h or 1,029 mph), with few changes remaining to be made for the satellite's orbit adjustment.
French Guiana is populated in a proportion of 90%. Kourou has only 20,000 inhabitants, and it's surrounded by jungle on three sides and by the ocean on the fourth, which makes it a very safe place to perform the operations. This feeling is further enhanced by the fact that it is also heavily defended by the French legion and that there's no threat from earthquakes and cyclones. This is why the site attracts good businesses, from Mexico to Korea, and even from the US. Russian expertise also adds to the success of the business, according to Jean-Yves Le Gall, Arianespace's chief executive, “By cooperating with the Russians, we are better positioned to compete with emerging players like the Chinese”.