ELA-4 (French: Ensemble de Lancement Ariane 4, lit. 'Ariane Launch Complex 4'), is a launch pad and associated facilities at the Centre Spatial Guyanais in French Guiana located along the Route de l'Espace in the Roche Christine site, between ELA-3 and ELS launch facilities. The complex is composed of a launch pad with mobile gantry, an horizontal assembly building and a dedicated launch operations building. ELA-4 is operated by Arianespace as part of the Ariane 6 program. As of November 2022[update] the first launch is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2023.
 Panoramic view of ELA-4 | |||||||||
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| Launch site | Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG) | ||||||||
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| Location | 5°15′54″N 52°47′31″W / 5.265°N 52.792°W | ||||||||
| Time zone | UTC−03 (GFT) | ||||||||
| Short name | ELA-4 | ||||||||
| Established | September 2021 | ||||||||
| Operator | Arianespace · ESA | ||||||||
| Total launches | 0 | ||||||||
| Launch pad(s) | 1 | ||||||||
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History
CNES was responsible for the construction of the Ariane 6 ground segments including the new launch pad. Earthworks on the 170 hectare launch site began at the end of June 2015 and was completed at the start of 2016. Four platforms were levelled to accommodate the launch pad, the liquid oxygen and hydrogen tanks and the assembly building. Civil engineering works on the flame trench and other buildings began in the summer of 2016 and ended in 2019.[1][2] The launch facility was inaugurated on 28 September 2021 in presence of most of the 600 workers employed at the site, 75% of which recruited locally.[3]
Earthworks for the flame trench in August 2017
Horizontal assembly building construction in 2017
ELA-4 under construction in November 2019
Closeup view of the pad's flame diverters in 2019
Scheduled flights
| Date Time (UTC) | Rocket type Serial No. | Payload | Orbit | Customers | Launch status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 July 2024[4] | Ariane 62 | Multiple rideshare payloads[5] | LEO | PTS, TU Berlin, ArianeGroup, BarcelonaTech, NASA, TUKE, University of Lisbon | Planned |
| Q4 2024[6] | Ariane 62 | CSO-3 | SSO | CNES / DGA | Planned |
| H1 2025[7] | Ariane 64 | MTG-S1[8] | GTO | EUMETSAT | Planned |
| 2025[6][9] | Ariane 62 | Galileo FOC FM 29, 30 | MEO | ESA | Planned |
| 2025[6][9] | Ariane 62 | Galileo FOC FM 31, 32 | MEO | ESA | Planned |
| 2025[9] | Ariane 62 | Galileo FOC FM 33, 34 | MEO | ESA | Planned |
| 2025[10] | Ariane 64 | Intelsat-41, 44 | GTO | Intelsat | Planned |
| 2025[6][11] | Ariane 64 | Optus-11 | GTO | Optus | Planned |
| 2025[6][12][13] | Ariane 64 | Uhura-1 (Node-1)[14] | GTO | Skyloom | Planned |
| 2025[15] | Ariane 6 | Galileo G2 1 | MEO | ESA | Planned |
| 2025[16] | Ariane 6 | Hellas Sat 5 | GTO | Hellas Sat | Planned |
| Q2 2026[7] | Ariane 64[17] | MTG-I2[18] | GTO | EUMETSAT | Planned |
| H1 2026[19] | Ariane 64 | Intelsat 45 | GTO | Intelsat | Planned |
| Q4 2026[20] | Ariane 64 | Multi-Launch Service (MLS) #1 rideshare mission | GTO | TBA | Planned |
| 2026[21] | Ariane 62[22] | PLATO | Sun–Earth L2 | ESA | Planned |
| Q4 2027[20] | Ariane 64 | MLS #2 rideshare mission | GTO | TBA | Planned |
| 2027[23] | Ariane 64 | Earth Return Orbiter | Areocentric | ESA | Planned |
| Q4 2028[20] | Ariane 64 | MLS #3 rideshare mission | GTO | TBA | Planned |
| Q3 2029[20] | Ariane 64 | MLS #4 rideshare mission | GTO | TBA | Planned |
| 2029[24] | Ariane 62 | ARIEL, Comet Interceptor | Sun–Earth L2 | ESA | Planned |
| 2030[25][26] | Ariane 64 | Argonaut (lunar lander) | TLI | ESA | Planned |
| 2035[27] | Ariane 64[28] | Athena | Sun–Earth L2, Halo orbit | ESA | Planned |
| 2035[29] | Ariane 6 | LISA | Heliocentric | ESA | Planned |
| TBD[30] | Ariane 64 | 18 launches of Project Kuiper (35–40 satellites)[31] | LEO | Kuiper Systems | Planned |
| TBD[32] | Ariane 62 | Electra | GTO | SES S.A. / ESA | Planned |
| TBD[32] | Ariane 62 | Eutelsat ×5 | GTO | Eutelsat | Planned |
