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- Thermal inspection of the Ariane 5 launch pad
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.
Background
As part of the revalidation of the Ariane 5 launch pad, the operation of each igniter had to be checked remotely.
What we did
From flight VA246, on 4 December 2018, our drone fitted with a thermal camera observed the installation: the thermal signatures showed whether or not each igniter was working properly. This check was part of the thermal inspection of some of the launch pad facilities, carried out with Arianespace and RMT.
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.
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