Overview | Preparation area | Launch zone | Entry into service

The Spaceport

Soyuz launch site facts

• The launch site is located 12 kilometers northwest from the Ariane 5 launch complex
  
• The launch vehicle’s assembly building is 92 meters long, 41 meters wide, and 22 meters tall
  
• Soyuz’s launch site is configured after the Russian Baikonur and Plesetsk Cosmodromes but with a new mobile launch service tower
  
• Assembly of Soyuz launchers is performed horizontally inside the launcher integration building, with payload integration performed vertically on the launch pad
  

Soyuz launch site > Launch zone

The Soyuz launch zone is dominated by its multi-level launch pad and a massive 149-meter wide X 123-meter long flame duct excavated into layers of soil and granite - making it one of the largest civil construction programs in French Guiana.

Configured after the launch sites at Baikonur and Plesetsk Cosmodromes, the Spaceport's Soyuz launch zone ensures the same acoustic and environmental conditions as experienced during more than 1,700 liftoffs performed from the facilities in Kazakhstan and Russia.

The Spaceport's launch pad is 63.5 meters long, 45.3 meters wide and 16 meters deep. This five-level reinforced concrete structure houses mission equipment, and the top two levels have 15-meter wide openings for the launch table and the erected Soyuz vehicle. Its upper area accommodates the launch pad infrastructure, including service tower, fueling booms and erector.

Where the Spaceport's installation differs from Soyuz Cosmodrome launch sites is the use of an eight-level, mobile launch service tower. This 53-meter tall, 24-meter wide structure is rolled from its parked position onto the launch pad, providing a controlled working environment for the vertical integration of Soyuz' upper composite - consisting of the mission payload, Fregat upper stage and payload fairing.