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ELA-1
Launch pad at the Centre Spatial Guyanais

ELV is a launch complex at the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana supporting launches of the Vega and Vega C rockets. It was first built in November 1971 and was previously used to support launches of the Europa, Ariane 1 and Ariane 3 rockets.

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History

Europa (BEC)

ELA-1, at the time designated BEC (French: Base Équatoriale du CECLES, lit. 'CECLES Equatorial Base') was constructed as an equatorial launch site for the Europa-II rocket which was being built as part of the ELDO programme. The first launch occurred on 5 November 1971. This was the only flight of the Europa-II, which ended in failure due to a guidance problem. The launch site was mothballed, and later demolished.

Ariane (ELA)

When the Ariane 1 programme was started, to replace the failed ELDO programme, a new launch site was built on the site of the former BEC, re-designated as ELA (French: Ensemble de Ariane, lit. 'Ariane Launch Complex'). The first Ariane 1 launch occurred on 24 December 1979. ELA was also used by Ariane 2 and Ariane 3 rockets, which first flew on 31 May 1986 and 4 August 1984 respectively. ELA was redesignated ELA-1 when the Ariane 4 entered service in 1988, as this launched from a separate launch pad, designated ELA-2. The Ariane 1 was retired on 22 February 1986, the Ariane 2 on 2 April 1989, and the Ariane 3 on 12 July 1989. ELA was subsequently demolished.

Vega (ELV)

In November 2001, started the redevelopment of the pad to accommodate the Vega rocket and the ELA-1 was redesignated ELV.1 The reconstruction retained the Ariane 1 flame trench and added a new 50 m tall retractable vertical assembly building to cover the rocket during the preparation, four lighting protection masts and a new launch tower for the rocket. The launchpad is sometimes also designated as Site de Lancement Vega (SLV) and Zone de Lancement Vega (ZLV). Vega made its first launch from the complex on 13 February 2012.2

Launch history

Launch graph

1 2 3 4 1971 1975 1980 1985 1990 2010 2015 2020 2025

Launch chart

N°DateFlightLauncherPayloadResultReferences
15 November 1971F-11Europa IIsatellite mockupFailure3
224 December 1979L-1Ariane 1CAT-1Success 4
323 May 1980L-2Firewheel Subsat-1,2,3,4 Amsat P3A CAT 2Failure5
419 June 1981L-3Meteosat 2 Apple CAT 3Success6
520 December 1981L-4MARECS 1 CAT 4Success7
69 September 1982L-5MARECS B Sirio 2Failure8
716 June 1983L-6ECS 1 Amsat P3B (Oscar 10)Success9
819 October 1983L-7Intelsat 507Success10
95 March 1984L-8Intelsat 508Success1112
1023 May 1984V-9Spacenet F1Success1314
114 August 1984V-10Ariane 3Eutelsat 2 Telecom 1ASuccess1516
1210 November 1984V-11Spacenet F2 MARECS 2Success1718
138 February 1985V-12Arabsat-1A Brasilsat-A1Success1920
148 May 1985V-13GStar 1 Télécom 1BSuccess2122
152 July 1985V-14Ariane 1GiottoSuccess2324
1612 September 1985V-15Ariane 3Spacenet 3 ECS 3Failure252627
1722 February 1986V-16Ariane 1SPOT 1 VikingSuccess282930
Flight V-17 (Ariane 3) was the first flight to launch from ELA-2 on 28 March 1986 3132
1831 May 1986V-18Ariane 2Intelsat VA F-14Failure333435
1916 September 1987V-19Ariane 3Aussat A3 ECS 4Success363738
Flight V-20 (Ariane 2) launched from ELA-2 on 20 November 1987 394041
2011 March 1988V-21Ariane 3Spacenet 3R Telecom 1CSuccess424344
Flight V-22 (Maiden flight Ariane 4) launched from ELA-2 on 15 June 1988 454647
2117 May 1988V-23Ariane 2Intelsat VA F-13Success484950
2221 July 1988V-24Ariane 3INSAT-1C ECS 5Success515253
Flight V-25 (Ariane 3) launched from ELA-2 on 8 September 1988 545556
2328 October 1988V-26Ariane 2TDF 1Success575859
2427 January 1989V-28Intelsat VA F-15Success606162
252 April 1989V-30Tele-XSuccess636465
2611 July 1989V-32Ariane 3Olympus-1Success666768
Flights V27, V29 and V31 were launched from ELA-2. V27, V29 and V31 were all operated by Ariane 469
From July 1989 until February 2012, no rockets were launched from ELA-1. As an alternative, ELA-2 and ELA-3 were used.In November 2001, construction works started to prepare the pad for the lightweight Vega rocket.
2713 February 2012VV-01VegaSuccess70
287 May 2013VV-02Success71
2930 April 2014VV-03KazEOSat 1Success72
3011 February 2015VV-04IVXSuccess73
3123 June 2015VV-05Sentinel-2ASuccess74
323 December 2015VV-06LISA PathfinderSuccess75
3316 September 2016VV-07PeruSat-1 4 Terra Bella satellitesSuccess76
345 December 2016VV-08Göktürk-1ASuccess77
359 March 2017VV-09Sentinel-2BSuccess78
362 August 2017VV-10OPTSAT-3000 VENμSSuccess
378 November 2017VV-112 MN35-13 satellitesSuccess
3822 August 2018VV-12ADM-AeolusSuccess
3921 November 2018VV-13Mohammed VI-BSuccess
4022 March 2019VV-14PRISMASuccess
4111 July 2019VV-15FalconEye 1Failure
4203 September 2020VV-16
  • Athena
  • ESAIL
  • GHGSat-C1
  • NEMO-HD
  • ÑuSat 6
  • UPM-Sat 2
  • ION CubeSat Carrier
  • Flock-4v × 26 (cubesats)
  • AMICal Sat (cubesat)
  • DIDO-3 (cubesat)
  • FSSCat /A and /B (cubesats)
  • Lemur-2 × 8 (cubesats)
  • OSM-1 Cicero (cubesat)
  • NAPA-1 (cubesat)
  • PICASSO (cubesat)
  • SIMBA (cubesat)
  • SpaceBEE × 12 (cubesats)
  • TARS-1 (cubesat)
  • TRISAT (cubesat)
  • TTÜ-100 (cubesat)
  • Tyvak 0171 (cubesat)
Success
4317 November 2020VV-17Failure
4429 April 2021VV-18Success
4517 August 2021VV-19
  • Pléiades Neo 4
  • BRO-4 (cubesat)
  • LEDSAT (cubesat)
  • RADCUBE (cubesat)
  • SUNSTORM (cubesats)
Success
4616 November 2021VV-20

CERES × 3

Success
4713 July 2022VV-21Vega-C
  • LARES 2
  • ALPHA (cubesat)
  • AstroBio CubeSat (cubesat)
  • CELESTA (cubesat)
  • GreenCube (cubesat)
  • MTCube-2 (cubesat)
  • TRISAT-R (cubesat)
Success79
4821 December 2022VV-22Pléiades Neo 5 & 6Failure80
499 October 2023VV-23Vega
  • THEOS-2
  • TRITON
  • ANSER × 3 (cubesats)
  • CSC × 2 (cubesats)
  • ESTCube-2 (cubesat)
  • MACSAT (cubesat)
  • N3SS (cubesat)
  • PRETTY (cubesat)
  • PVCC (cubesat)
Success81

Situation on 10 October 2023

See also

  • Spaceflight portal

References

  1. "BEC, ELA, ELV, d'EUROPA à VEGA". Capcomespace. Retrieved 23 August 2018. https://www.capcomespace.net/dossiers/espace_europeen/VEGA/ELV.htm ↩

  2. "Operations". Arianespace. Retrieved 31 December 2015. http://www.arianespace.com/spaceport-facility/operations/ ↩

  3. "Europa". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000914/http://www.astronautix.com/fam/europa.htm ↩

  4. "Ariane 1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 10 December 2022. http://www.astronautix.com/a/ariane1.html ↩

  5. "Ariane 1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 10 December 2022. http://www.astronautix.com/a/ariane1.html ↩

  6. "Ariane 1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 10 December 2022. http://www.astronautix.com/a/ariane1.html ↩

  7. "Ariane 1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 10 December 2022. http://www.astronautix.com/a/ariane1.html ↩

  8. "Ariane 1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 10 December 2022. http://www.astronautix.com/a/ariane1.html ↩

  9. "Ariane 1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 10 December 2022. http://www.astronautix.com/a/ariane1.html ↩

  10. "Ariane 1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 10 December 2022. http://www.astronautix.com/a/ariane1.html ↩

  11. "Ariane 1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 10 December 2022. http://www.astronautix.com/a/ariane1.html ↩

  12. "Kourou ELA 1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000301/http://www.astronautix.com/sites/kouuela1.htm ↩

  13. "Ariane 1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 10 December 2022. http://www.astronautix.com/a/ariane1.html ↩

  14. "Kourou ELA 1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000301/http://www.astronautix.com/sites/kouuela1.htm ↩

  15. "Kourou ELA 1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000301/http://www.astronautix.com/sites/kouuela1.htm ↩

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  17. "Kourou ELA 1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000301/http://www.astronautix.com/sites/kouuela1.htm ↩

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  19. "Kourou ELA 1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000301/http://www.astronautix.com/sites/kouuela1.htm ↩

  20. "Ariane 3". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 10 December 2022. http://www.astronautix.com/a/ariane3.html ↩

  21. "Kourou ELA 1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000301/http://www.astronautix.com/sites/kouuela1.htm ↩

  22. "Ariane 3". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 10 December 2022. http://www.astronautix.com/a/ariane3.html ↩

  23. "Ariane 1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 10 December 2022. http://www.astronautix.com/a/ariane1.html ↩

  24. "Kourou ELA 1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000301/http://www.astronautix.com/sites/kouuela1.htm ↩

  25. "Kourou ELA 1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000301/http://www.astronautix.com/sites/kouuela1.htm ↩

  26. "Ariane 3". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 10 December 2022. http://www.astronautix.com/a/ariane3.html ↩

  27. Harvey, Brian (14 February 2003). "List of European space launchings". Europe's Space Programme: To Ariane and Beyond. Book Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 358–361. ISBN 978-1-85233-722-3. 978-1-85233-722-3 ↩

  28. "Ariane 1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 10 December 2022. http://www.astronautix.com/a/ariane1.html ↩

  29. "Kourou ELA 1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000301/http://www.astronautix.com/sites/kouuela1.htm ↩

  30. Harvey, Brian (14 February 2003). "List of European space launchings". Europe's Space Programme: To Ariane and Beyond. Book Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 358–361. ISBN 978-1-85233-722-3. 978-1-85233-722-3 ↩

  31. "Ariane 3". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 10 December 2022. http://www.astronautix.com/a/ariane3.html ↩

  32. "Kourou ELA-2". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 1 February 2010. Retrieved 31 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20100201090427/http://astronautix.com/sites/kouuela2.htm ↩

  33. "Kourou ELA 1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000301/http://www.astronautix.com/sites/kouuela1.htm ↩

  34. Harvey, Brian (14 February 2003). "List of European space launchings". Europe's Space Programme: To Ariane and Beyond. Book Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 358–361. ISBN 978-1-85233-722-3. 978-1-85233-722-3 ↩

  35. "Ariane 2". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 10 December 2022. http://www.astronautix.com/a/ariane2.html ↩

  36. "Kourou ELA 1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000301/http://www.astronautix.com/sites/kouuela1.htm ↩

  37. "Ariane 3". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 10 December 2022. http://www.astronautix.com/a/ariane3.html ↩

  38. Harvey, Brian (14 February 2003). "List of European space launchings". Europe's Space Programme: To Ariane and Beyond. Book Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 358–361. ISBN 978-1-85233-722-3. 978-1-85233-722-3 ↩

  39. Harvey, Brian (14 February 2003). "List of European space launchings". Europe's Space Programme: To Ariane and Beyond. Book Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 358–361. ISBN 978-1-85233-722-3. 978-1-85233-722-3 ↩

  40. "Kourou ELA-2". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 1 February 2010. Retrieved 31 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20100201090427/http://astronautix.com/sites/kouuela2.htm ↩

  41. "Ariane 2". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 10 December 2022. http://www.astronautix.com/a/ariane2.html ↩

  42. "Kourou ELA 1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000301/http://www.astronautix.com/sites/kouuela1.htm ↩

  43. "Ariane 3". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 10 December 2022. http://www.astronautix.com/a/ariane3.html ↩

  44. Harvey, Brian (14 February 2003). "List of European space launchings". Europe's Space Programme: To Ariane and Beyond. Book Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 358–361. ISBN 978-1-85233-722-3. 978-1-85233-722-3 ↩

  45. "Kourou ELA 1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000301/http://www.astronautix.com/sites/kouuela1.htm ↩

  46. Harvey, Brian (14 February 2003). "List of European space launchings". Europe's Space Programme: To Ariane and Beyond. Book Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 358–361. ISBN 978-1-85233-722-3. 978-1-85233-722-3 ↩

  47. "Kourou ELA-2". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 1 February 2010. Retrieved 31 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20100201090427/http://astronautix.com/sites/kouuela2.htm ↩

  48. "Kourou ELA 1". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000301/http://www.astronautix.com/sites/kouuela1.htm ↩

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  52. "Ariane 3". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 10 December 2022. http://www.astronautix.com/a/ariane3.html ↩

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