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- Launch campaigns: fifteen launches covered in Kourou from 2017 to 2019
Launch campaigns: fifteen launches covered in Kourou from 2017 to 2019
Aerial photography of the launch complexes during Ariane 5, Soyuz and Vega campaigns, within the windows authorised by the base: fifteen launches from December 2017 to December 2019.
Background
A launch campaign mobilises the base for several weeks: transfers, pad preparation, launcher installation, final countdown. Operators need images of these stages for their communication and to document their facilities, without disturbing a single operation.
What we did
Our pilots work under waivers, in the slots set by the base’s safety service and with cleared teams. From December 2017 to December 2019, our images accompanied the live broadcasts of fifteen launches: eleven Ariane 5 flights, from VA240 to VA250, three Soyuz flights, from VS21 to VS23, and Vega flight VV14.
Gallery
Other projects
The Ariane 6 launch complex construction, filmed and photographed from 2018 to 2021
From 2018 to 2021, aerial photo and video campaigns on the ELA4 construction site: fourteen films published by the Guiana Space Centre, photos used by ESA, Espace & Exploration and Latitude 5.
Flame trenches of the Ariane 6 launch complex: inspections and a digital twin at 1.5 mm per pixel
Since November 2023 we have photographed the inside of the two flame trenches of the ELA4, which carry the engine exhaust away at lift-off. In 2025 a photogrammetric survey turned them into a digital twin and eight orthophotos at about 1.5 mm per pixel.
Jet guide and deflector of the ELA4: inspected after the first four Ariane 6 launches
After the maiden flight of Ariane 6 in July 2024, then after the launches of March, August and November 2025, we photographed the jet guide of the ELA4, outside and inside over its full height, together with its deflector.
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Location, area or structure, expected deliverables and timing: with these details we can propose a method and a quote.
97310 Kourou
French Guiana
Route des Trois-Îlets
97229 Les Trois-Îlets
Martinique
20030-041 Rio de Janeiro – RJ
Brazil