Things are getting pretty hectic here at Europe’s Spaceport. We are now two weeks away from the first launch of the year, VA247, which is an Ariane 5 launch that will carry satellites GSAT-31 and Satellite 1/Hellas Sat 4 (HS-4/SGS-1). February/March will be very busy too, but more on that in the future… 

Here are the first pictures of the future Ariane 6 launch site of 2019. You can clearly see the future mobile gantry (90 metres high), the flame trenches, the assembly hall (low horizontal building to the left), and the water tower with an inside view. The work is proceeding quickly and we are very lucky so far with the weather. It is the rainy season, but the amount falling on us is much less than it was this time last year.

Charlotte Beskow

Head of the ESA Space Transportation Office in Kourou