Europe's Spaceport - Spaceport Overview  
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The Guiana Space Center - also known as the Spaceport - is a strategically located facility that provides the optimum operating conditions for Arianespace's commercial launches.

Situated close to the equator at 5.3 deg. North latitude, the Spaceport is ideally situated for missions into geostationary orbit

Launching near the equator reduces the energy required for orbit plane change maneuvers. This saves fuel, enabling an increased operational lifetime for Ariane satellite payloads - and, in turn, an improved return on investment for the spacecraft operators.

The French Guiana coastline's shape allows for launches into all useful orbits from northward launches to -10.5 deg. through eastward missions to +93.5 deg.

Ariane operations began in 1979 with the Ariane 1 version. Since then, more than 155 Ariane flights have been performed from the Spaceport, with the Ariane 5 now operating as Arianespace's workhorse launch vehicle.
 


Introduction - Practical Information - History - Who does what? - Public Visits