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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.
Background
A launch subjects the facilities to blast, heat and vibration. A post-launch inspection is carried out after each launch, for revalidation purposes, before the zone resumes activity. The drone makes it possible to examine the upper parts of the structures without working at height.
What we did
On Monday 4 January 2021 we inspected the Soyuz launch zone for Groupe ADF, as part of this post-launch revalidation. The drone photographs the structures one by one, upper parts included, and the images record their condition for the revalidation file. The same work has been carried out on other launch complexes of the base.
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.
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.
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97310 Kourou
French Guiana
Route des Trois-Îlets
97229 Les Trois-Îlets
Martinique
20030-041 Rio de Janeiro – RJ
Brazil