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	Kourou - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		Kourou is a town and commune in French Guiana, some 40 km northwest of the capital Cayenne at the mouth of the Kourou river on the Atlantic coast.
		It has a population of 20,000, many of whom are Metropolitan French, earning Kourou the nickname 'White City.' The Centre Spatial Guyanais (Guiana Space Centre), where the European Space Agency starts missions, is located outside the town.
		Kourou was formerly a prison colony: see Devil's Island.
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Kourou (140 words)

	Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana
		The decision to build the launch site in Kourou was made by France in 1964 and the initial construction at a cost of 25 million Francs was completed in 1968.
		Kourou provided France with the alternative to the Hammaguir rocket test base in Algeria, evacuated by June 30, 1967, in the aftermath of the Algerian war for independence.
		At the beginning of the 1990s, the spaceport in Kourou occupied 850 square kilometers of land and directly employed 1,100 members of the personnel.
	www.russianspaceweb.com /kourou.html (1241 words)

	New launch site for Russian rocket
		The possibility of launching manned spacecraft from Kourou with Soyuz rockets is also being discussed; however, the geographical advantages of the location are less important because the International Space Station (ISS) has an orbit inclination of 51.60 degrees.
		The Kourou space center is not highly useful for independently manned near-equatorial launches as a launch of this kind puts spacecraft into orbits that cover a minimum observation area of the earth and are beyond the range of Russian ground-based flight control systems.
		When the Kourou launch site for the Soyuz is completed (and a few doubt it will not be), the Soyuz will become the first launch vehicle to be launched from three countries--Kourou in French Guiana, Baikonur in Kazakhstan and Plesetsk in Russia.
	www.globalsecurity.org /space/library/news/2004/space-040601-irna01.htm (928 words)

	BBC NEWS \| Science/Nature \| Space diary from Kourou
		The launch preparation activities are not only here at Kourou, French Guiana; there are teams back in Europe at Mission Control Ground Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, practising commanding the satellite and monitoring the telemetry data to verify the satellite is operating correctly.
		This is, as yesterday, a hazardous operation and has to be done in the protective suits and also everything has to be made safe at the end of the operation.
		The satellite mates with the ACU (the interface ring between the satellite and the Ariane 5 rocket) and is moved to the BAF (the building where the Ariane is finally assembled and prepared for launch).
	news.bbc.co.uk /hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1809000/1809950.stm (731 words)

	ESA - Europe's Spaceport
		Europe's Spaceport is situated in the northeast of South America in French Guiana, an overseas department of France.
		Kourou lies at latitude 5°3', just over 500 km north of the equator.
		Its nearness to the equator makes it ideally placed for launches into geostationary transfer orbit as few changes have to be made to a satellite’s trajectory.
	www.esa.int /SPECIALS/Launchers_Europe_s_Spaceport (388 words)

	Kourou
		Kourou, where Europe's space base is located, was a notorious hellhole.
		The Kourou area is dotted with big dish antennas that will track its flight; others are in Brazil, on Ascension Island in the Atlantic, and in Gabon.
		It was necessary to develop concrete that stood up to high humidity and a six-month rainy season, to make electrical cables and insulation that resisted heat and salty ocean air, and to find ways of building solid foundations on the area's swampy land.
	www.geocities.com /harriss75007/kourou.htm (1582 words)

	[FPSPACE] Kourou Soyuz to ISS? (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-21)
		This offcourse gives Kourou a big advantage over Bay Konour, however as you correctly note we are not launching due east but at a certain launch azimuth, so we have to redefine the 'push' as Veq * COS(Latitude) * COS(LaunchAzimuth).
		IF Kourou should be exactly on the equator, the launch azimuth will need to be 51.6 degrees and IF BayKonour should be at 51.6 degrees latitude the launch azimuth from Bay Konour should be exactly due east, in which case you're exactly right and there's no difference in performance.
		However, Kourou is at 7 degrees latitude so the launch azimuth to a 51.6 degrees orbit would be slightly more, and Bay Konour is at about 45 degrees so its launch azimuth is actually less than 90 degrees (if they launch due east they would be overflying China).
	www.friends-partners.org /pipermail/fpspace/2004-January/011190.html (391 words)

	Kourou > Presentation (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-21)
		Located between Kourou and Sinamary, the CSG covers a territory as large as the island of Martinique, and comprises a large number of industrial companies working on the launch programs for the Ariane rockets.
		The Snecma plant in Kourou is directly involved in the preparations of the Ariane 4 and Ariane 5 launch vehicles.
		The launchers are prepared by the permanent team at the Kourou center (about 30 people), joined by mission specialists from the plants in Vernon and Villaroche Nord, and from Snecma Propulsion Solide (a SAFRAN Group company), detached to Kourou for each launch campaign.
	www.snecma-moteurs.com /?r=220&lg=en (217 words)

	Kourou -- Encyclopædia Britannica
		In the 19th century about 15,000 French settlers, imagining the town to be the legendary El Dorado, arrived there, but within two years all had died, either from disease or starvation.
		Kourou town assumed some importance after 1970 with the completion...
		The smallest of the three Îles du Salut, about 10 miles (16 km) from the mainland and the Kourou River mouth, it is a narrow strip of land about 3,900 feet (1,200 m) long and 1,320 feet (400 m) broad, mostly covered by palm trees.
	www.britannica.com /eb/article-9046157 (454 words)

	Kourou Launch Site - Europe Space
		All Ariane launches are conducted at ESA facilities located on the French Centre Spatial Guyanais grounds in Kourou, French Guiana.
		Kourou was the site of eight launches of the French Diamant BSBP boosters during 1970-1975 before the maiden flight of Ariane 1 in 1979.
		In 1993 a major multi-year renovation project was undertaken in Kourou to support not only the forthcoming Ariane 5 but also the continuing Ariane 4 missions.
	www.globalsecurity.org /space/world/europe/facility.htm (249 words)

	RedOrbit NEWS \| Russian Experts Leave For Kourou Space Center (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-21)
		Feb 20 (Interfax) - A group of Russian experts on Friday left for the Kourou space center in French Guiana to discuss matters related to the project for launching Soyuz rockets from the island.
		Soyuz launches from Kourou will also allow the launch vehicle to carry payloads of 4 tonnes into geostationary orbits, instead of the 1.5 tonnes carried from Baikonur, because Kourou lies close to the equator.
		The space center in Kourou is owned by the ESA and leased by the French national space agency.
	www.redorbit.com /modules/news/tools.php?tool=print&id=46473 (333 words)

	Pravda.RU:First delegation of Russian experts goes to Kourou space center
		The first delegation of Russian experts has gone to the Kourou space center to coordinate the questions of the construction of a complex for launching Soyuz-2 rocket carriers.
		The proximity of the space center to the equator and the use of the effect from the Earth's rotation make it possible to put in orbit a payload of 3-3.2 tons against 1-1.5 tons that can be orbited in launches from the Baikonur space center.
		This credit is necessary for modernizing the rocket, for adapting its use in Kourou and for building ground infrastructure.
	english.pravda.ru /main/2004/02/20/52414_.html (395 words)

	[FPSPACE] Kourou Soyuz to ISS?
		For Baikonur and Kourou the breakeven inclination is 87.3 degree.
		For example a launch to a 98.4 degree sun-synchronous orbit is 30 m/s easier from Baikonur than from Kourou, while for ISS orbit Kourou has an advantage of 93 m/s.
		For Baikonur and Kourou the breakeven inclination is 87.3 degree. For = all higher inclination orbits launching from Baikonur is easier, for all lower inclination = orbits launching form Kourou is easier.
	www.friends-partners.org /pipermail/fpspace/2004-January/011189.html (449 words)

	Space Today Online - European space rockets
		European Space Agency rockets are called Ariane and they are launched from pads at Kourou, French Guiana, on the northeastern edge of South America.
		The Kourou space launch complex is known as Centre Spatial Guyanais.
		Kourou's position near the equator offers an advantage over Cape Canaveral for eastbound launches.
	www.spacetoday.org /Europe/EuroRockets.html (223 words)

	RIA Novosti - Online news - SOYUZ ROCKETS TO BE LAUNCHED FROM SOUTH AMERICA
		The first Soyuz rocket is to be launched from Kourou in 2008, Vyacheslav Davidenko, a spokesman for the Federal Space Agency, said.
		As Kourou is close to the Equator, each Soyuz launcher will be able to orbit four-ton payloads rather than the 1.5-ton payloads that the launch vehicles currently take to space from Baikonur.
		Experts are sure that manned launches cannot be transferred from Baikonur to Kourou in the next few years, as the latter does not have the required high-safety infrastructure for manned space flights.
	en.rian.ru /onlinenews/20050412/39698049.html (371 words)

	BBC NEWS \| Science/Nature \| Space diary: Fuelling up
		Once we have caught up on lost sleep there are a number of pastimes that are pursued here: swimming, fishing, golf, cycling, sight-seeing, jungle trekking and canoeing.
		Golf here is quite interesting as the rough on the Kourou golf course consists of dense jungle.
		Generally, most golfers do not try to retrieve golf balls in the rough, and tales abound of finding a snake guarding the ball or troops of monkeys crossing the fairway.
	news.bbc.co.uk /hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1823000/1823203.stm (901 words)

	Kourou
		Operational activities nearly ceased for three years while a complete renovation of the center was undertaken to support the new European Ariane orbital launch vehicle.
		As of 2003 the most active project was the possible erection of a Soyuz launch complex at Kourou, at a total expense of $ 371 million.
		This launch was the first Ariane 5 to use the 17-m Long Fairing and the first to launch north from Kourou.
	www.astronautix.com /sites/kourou.htm (11902 words)

	Centre Spatial Guyanais / Kourou Space Centre
		Kourou, in French Guiana, is the site of the Arianespace launch facilities.
		It was chosen in part because, at 5 deg North latitude, it is close to the equator which makes the site ideal for launching geostationary satellites.
		In 1975, ESA took over the existing European facilities at the Guiana Space Centre to build ELA-1 (the "Ensemble de Lancement Ariane", or Ariane launch complex) for its Ariane-1 launcher, soon to be followed by Ariane 2/3.
	envisat.esa.int /support-docs/csg.html (428 words)

	The New Ground Infrastructure for Ariane-5 in Kourou
		Construction started in Kourou as early as 1988 and today most facilities are already operational and are used for different types of test campaigns, prior to the two Ariane-5 qualification flights scheduled for November 1995 and April 1996.
		The short duration of the Ariane-5 ground operations (21 working days) from the acceptance of launcher elements, their integration, checkout and launch, will contribute to the objective of reducing launch costs by 10% compared to Ariane-4.
		This short launch campaign is possible because of the design of the facilities and the way operations are organised: automation, checks done in parallel for all the stages checks, done in Europe as well as in Kourou with identical check-out equipment.
	esapub.esrin.esa.it /rfs/rfs13/dalrfs13.htm (560 words)

	ESA Science & Technology: Rosetta arrives in South America
		On 10 September, the cocooned spacecraft was transferred to a trailer for the slow overnight trip from ESTEC in Noordwijk to Schiphol airport near Amsterdam.
		Later that day, the container and ground support equipment - 62 tonnes in all - were gingerly loaded onto a Russian Antonov 124 transport plane ready for transportation to the South American launch centre.
		Immediately on arrival, the Antonov was unloaded and the spacecraft was taken to the S1 building, one of the specialist payload facilities at the launch site, where it was greeted by teams of experts from ESA, Astrium-Germany and Alenia.
	sci.esa.int /content/news/index.cfm?aid=13&cid=36&oid=30527 (520 words)

	AMSAT P3-D in Kourou
		P3-D ist sicher in Kourou angekommen und befindet sich nun auf dem Startgelände der ESA in einem Cleanroom des Ariane 5 Final Assembly Building (BAF).
		The transport to Kourou over a distance of about 70 km was carried out by a truck convoi.
		P3-D is now located in the clean room at the Ariane 5 BAF (Final Assembly Building) at the AR5 launch preparation area in Kourou.
	www.amsat-dl.org /p3dkru (493 words)

	RedOrbit NEWS \| Arrangements Under Way To Launch Russian Rockets From Kourou (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-21)
		Feb 21 (Interfax) - Russian and European specialists are discussing a project to launch Russian space rockets from the Kourou space center in French Guiana, the first flight being due in two years' time.
		The talks, held at the Kourou space center, would focus on the construction of the infrastructure for launching Soyuz-ST rockets, which will put satellites in a geostationary orbit, a Russian Aviation and Space Agency representative told Interfax.
		All the fuel ingredients are manufactured at Kourou, from where French Ariane launcher rockets fly regularly.
	www.redorbit.com /modules/news/tools.php?tool=print&id=43359 (211 words)

	Mika's motorcycle travel around the world - February 2004, Kourou, France (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-21)
		Near Kourou is the European Space Port, and I had a look at it yesterday.
		Olivier and Fred, two French biketravellers living in Kourou, I had met on the road, welcomed me here with all I needed.
		Kourou is a quiet and small city, a tropical French city.
	www.weltreise-motorrad.de /040311_kourou_en.html (308 words)

	[No title] (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-21)
		Experiences in Kourou were quite good, really; exceptions were: HERTZ, who seemed to think a petrol cap was not necessary, dust or rain did not bother them; ESA, who had some 'interfeering' attitudes, and seemed to think it was their duty to enable, or not, our bank account usage.
		Some of the natural sites on the island were really beautiful, but some of the buildings, such as the prison cells, were still a frightening sight, and I do not remember how long ago the French stopped keeping prisoners in them.
		I am so pleased to have gone to Kourou, seen such a different part of the world, done the job that I had to do, and managed to come back with no health problems that I knew of (unlike some others of us).
	www.mssl.ucl.ac.uk /pages/heritage/John_Raymont_memoirs/kourou.html (438 words)

	ESA Considers Opening Kourou To Russian Launchers
		The ESA was due to consider the issue last week, but the discussion was put back because not all of the documents were ready and views on the issue differed, Yuri Koptev, head of the Russian Aerospace Agency, told Interfax.
		Although the Kourou site is on French territory, it effectively belongs to 16 European countries, Koptev said.
		The Soyuz would be an attractive proposition for launches from Kourou because it is lighter than the Ariane-4, while it has a similar payload, and would be much cheaper to use.
	www.spacedaily.com /news/russia-space-general-01b.html (663 words)

	Airbus Beluga transports Spot 5 satellite for April launch from the Guiana Space Centre, Europe Spaceport in Kourou (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-21)
		It carried the Spot 5 Earth observation satellite of CNES (French space agency), which was then delivered to the Guiana space centre in Kourou.
		This is the first time that the Beluga flew from Toulouse (France) to French Guiana, with a stop over in Cabo Verde, and was used to transport a complete satellite.
		The Spot 5 satellite, which was developed and produced by Astrium for CNES, will be launched from Kourou by an Ariane 4 in April, and positioned at an altitude of 832 kilometres.
	www.airbus.com /en/presscentre/pressreleases/pressreleases_items/02_22_02_Beluga.html (510 words)

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