Ten years of drone missions at the Guiana Space Centre
Since 2016 we have worked on the Kourou spaceport: launch campaigns, the Ariane 6 launch complex construction, post-launch inspections, networks, surveying, thermography and virtual tours.
Our work on the base
Launch campaigns
Aerial photography of the launch complexes during campaigns, for the operators’ communication.
Construction monitoring
Aerial campaigns, films and long-term time-lapses on the base’s construction sites.
Inspections
Launch zone structures after launches, buildings, power networks and pipework.
Surveying and LiDAR
Roads, launch pads, line-of-sight corridors, islands: terrain models under vegetation and orthophotos.
Thermography
Remote checks of operating equipment and of the base’s photovoltaic plants.
Virtual tours and digital twins
360° panoramas and 3D models to prepare teams and interventions.
Projects at the Space Centre
Each project has its own page: background, method, figures, images.
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.
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.
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.
Sounding rocket launch complex: 680 hectares of photogrammetry for a wind study
On 15 and 16 April 2026, for CNES, oblique imaging flights covered 6.77 km² around the sounding rocket launch complex: 25,928 images, a 667-million-point cloud and a 3D mesh for a wind simulation.
ELA4 hydrogen burn pond: the igniters checked with a thermal camera, test after test
From June 2023 to April 2026 we checked the igniters of the ELA4 hydrogen burn pond with a thermal camera: first for CNES during the Ariane 6 tests, then for Eiffage Énergie Systèmes at every launch preparation.
Post-launch inspections of the Ariane 5, Soyuz and Vega zones
Since 2018, after launches, we have photographed the structures of the launch zones for their revalidation, as on the Soyuz launch zone on 4 January 2021.
Salvation Islands: LiDAR and photogrammetry of the three islands
For CNES, which manages the site, LiDAR and photogrammetric surveys of Île Royale, Île Saint-Joseph and Devil’s Island, from 2023 to 2025.
Virtual tour of the Ariane 6 launch complex: 200 360° panoramas
For CNES, a web-based virtual tour of the launch complex, to prepare Toulouse-based engineers before their mission in French Guiana and brief them on safety protocols.
95 Space Centre buildings inspected in six days
In early June 2020, for Groupe ADF, inspection of the façades, roofs and roads of 95 buildings on the base, anchor points and welds included, in six days.
Tests of the P120C motor for Ariane 6 and Vega C
Our aerial footage of the second bench test of the P120C, on 28 January 2019, was published by CNES; in July 2020 we photographed the transfer of the third motor to the test bench.
Space Centre power network: 250 pylons inspected
In August 2019, inspection of 250 pylons of the base’s power network, so that our client could assess them and plan maintenance; the line supports were reviewed again until 2023.
Thermal inspection of the Ariane 5 launch pad
With Arianespace and RMT, thermal-camera check of the igniters of the launch pad’s hydrogen burn pond, from flight VA246 in December 2018.
Saint-Georges-de-l’Oyapock: 60 hectares of LiDAR to position a collimation mast
For CNES, a 2 km by 300 m corridor surveyed by LiDAR to study the lines of sight between a radar and a collimation mast 2.1 km away.
The Ariane 6 construction, month by month
The films of our campaigns on the launch complex, published by the Guiana Space Centre from November 2018 to March 2021.
Album: the launch complex in March 2019
Photos taken on 8 March 2019, published by ESA on its Ariane 6 blog on 15 March 2019.
Ten years on the base
Milestones since our first flights on the base in 2016.
- 2016Interview in Latitude 5, the CNES magazine at the Guiana Space Centre (no. 112, October 2016)
- 2017–2019Aerial images of fifteen launches broadcast live: Ariane 5 VA240 to VA250, Soyuz VS21 to VS23, Vega VV14
- 2018–2021Aerial campaigns on the Ariane 6 launch complex construction: fourteen films published by the Guiana Space Centre
- 2018Thermal check of the igniters of the Ariane 5 pad’s hydrogen burn pond, from flight VA246 (4 December 2018)
- 2018→Post-launch inspections of the Ariane 5, Soyuz and Vega zones, including the Soyuz zone on 4 January 2021
- 2019Our photos of the Ariane 6 site published by ESA (8 January and 15 March), Espace & Exploration (May-June) and France-Guyane (1 June)
- 2019–2020P120C motor: second bench test filmed by drone, published by CNES (28 January 2019), then transfer of the third motor (July 2020)
- 2019Our first drone drop mission: validation of an HF transmitter fitted on an Ariane 5 fairing debris
- 2019Inspection of 250 power network pylons (August)
- 2019Continuous topographic survey of more than 17 km of road for transferring Ariane 6 boosters
- 2019Topographic survey of the former Diamant launch pad, ahead of its rehabilitation
- 2020Drone-borne lux meter measurement of the lighting of the future Ariane 6 launch pad (February)
- 202095 buildings inspected in six days (June)
- 2021LiDAR of the sounding rocket area and a new survey of the former Diamant launch pad for CNES
- 2021LiDAR of a 60-hectare corridor in Saint-Georges-de-l’Oyapock for CNES
- 2023ELA4 hydrogen burn pond igniters checked with a thermal camera during the Ariane 6 tests: seven visits from June to December
- 2023First survey of the inside of the ELA4 flame trenches, jet guide and deflector (November)
- 2023LiDAR and photogrammetry of three areas, including the former Diamant site (November)
- 2023Virtual tour of the Ariane 6 launch complex: 200 360° panoramas for CNES
- 2023–2025LiDAR and photogrammetry of the three Salvation Islands
- 2024Flame trenches, jet guide and deflector inspected after the first Ariane 6 launch (July)
- 2025Digital twin of the inside of the ELA4 flame trenches: eight orthophotos at about 1.5 mm per pixel
- 2025Jet guide and deflector inspected after the March, August and November launches
- 2025Thermal survey of a photovoltaic plant on the base
- 2025–2026Hydrogen burn pond igniters checked at every Ariane 6 launch preparation
- 2026Photogrammetric survey of 680 hectares around the sounding rocket launch complex, for a wind study (April)
- 2026Long-term time-lapses on a launch construction site
Working on a spaceport
Authorisations
Every flight is prepared under a waiver, within the base’s restricted zones, in coordination with its safety services.
Scheduling
Flight slots fit between launch operations; we also work at night, at weekends and after launches.
Confidentiality
Images remain the client’s property and follow its distribution rules. On this site, we stay discreet about recent missions.
A team on site
Our head office is in Kourou, a few minutes from the base: pilots, processing and equipment are on site.
Recent missions on the base
Photogrammetric inspection of launch complex structures
Photogrammetric survey of 680 hectares around the sounding rocket launch complex
On 15 and 16 April 2026: 25,928 oblique and vertical images at 120 m, a 667-million-point cloud, a 274-million-face mesh, a 3.48 cm orthophoto and contour lines, for a low-level wind simulation.
- 680 ha
- 25 928 images
Four long-term time-lapses on a launch-site construction project
Cameras installed for three months on viewpoints agreed with the client, monthly photo monitoring of the site.
Jet guide and deflector inspected after the fourth Ariane 6 launch
The same imagery after the November 2025 flight: jet guide outside and inside, then the deflector.
Hydrogen burn pond igniters checked at every launch preparation
Seven thermal camera visits between February 2025 and April 2026, at each phase of Ariane 6 launch preparations on the ELA4.
ELA4 jet guide inspected after the third Ariane 6 launch
Outside and inside of the jet guide in 360° views, over its full height.
Inspection of the ELA4 deflector
Close-up photos of the deflector of the Ariane 6 launch complex.
Digital twin of the inside of the ELA4 flame trenches
Full photogrammetric survey of both flame trenches: digital twin, eight orthophotos at about 1.5 mm per pixel of the walls, floors and ceilings, and a web interface to measure and overlay surveys.
- 8 orthophotos
- 1,5 mm per pixel
ELA4 flame trench concrete walls compared with their November 2023 state
Photos of 7 May 2025 retaken position by position and compared with those of November 2023; the report of 15 May locates the deterioration that appeared on the walls of the east and west trenches.
ELA4 jet guide inspected after the second Ariane 6 launch
Outside of the jet guide and inside in 360° views over its full height; photos and mosaics viewable in a web interface.
Articles
Le pas de tir d’Ariane 6 se dote de sa propre visite virtuelle
New lasergrammetry for CNES
Inspection in the Soyuz launch area
Inspection des 250 pylônes électriques du CSG
Inspection drone thermique pour Ariane 5
P120C : premier essai de qualification réussi pour Ariane 6 et Vega C
Réhabilitation du pas de tir Diamant
Topographie par drone au Centre spatial
Largage par drone : validation et simulation
Tell us about your project
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