ELA-4

Ensemble de Lancement Ariane 4
Ariane Launch Complex 4

Panoramic view of ELA-4
Launch site	Guiana Space Centre
Location	5°15′54″N 52°47′31″W / 5.265°N 52.792°W / 5.265; -52.792
Time zone	UTC−03 (GFT)
Short name	ELA-4
Established	September 2021
Operator	Arianespace · ESA
Total launches	1
Launch history Status Active First launch 9 July 2024 Ariane 6 (Rideshare payload) Associated rockets Ariane 6

ELA-4 (French: Ensemble de Lancement Ariane 4, lit. 'Ariane Launch Complex 4') is a launch complex at the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana supporting launches of the Ariane 6 program. ELA-4 is located along the Route de l'Espace in the Roche Christine site, between the 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.

History[edit]

CNES was responsible for the construction of the Ariane 6 ground segments including the new launch pad. Earthworks on the 170-hectare (420-acre) 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]

See also[edit]

• Other Guiana Space Centre launch complexes:
  • ELA-1/ELV
  • ELA-2
  • ELA-3
  • ELS

References[edit]