On September 28, the official opening of the ELA-4 launch base construction for the future European launcher Ariane 6 took place in Kourou, French Guiana. On this 72-hectare site, the equivalent of 150 football pitches, and along the Route de l'Espace, the EQUANS teams installed the cooling & air-conditioning equipment's for the launch site of the new Ariane 6 rocket.
The construction and commissioning work were completed more than a year ago, and today our teams are in the maintenance, operation and technical qualification phase with the teams of the French National Centre for Space Studies (CNES). We are now into the final stretch, namely the combined tests that will end with the first launch of the new ARIANE 6 launcher scheduled for the second quarter of 2022. A look back at this major project and our long-standing presence at the Guyanese Space Center….
First Belgian company on ELA-4
The Belgian teams of EQUANS have been awarded the contract for the ground infrastructure of Ariane 6. This contract is in the extension of EQUANS’ long-established activities in the space sector, particularly in critical air-conditioning applications for the CNES. EQUANS has a specific industrial organisation tailored to the construction, commissioning, maintenance and operation of air-conditioning installations at the Guiana Space Centre (GSC).
Huge cooling system
At lift-off, the thrust of the version 64 (with four boosters) of Ariane 6 will be equivalent to the thrust of more than 10 Airbuses A380. Efficient cooling of the launch zone will be imperative. EQUANS has therefore installed a chilled water production system comprising three refrigeration units with a capacity of 1 MW, which required the installation of a 10 km network of underground pipes. In addition, the teams worked on all the air-conditioning installations located in the launcher assembly building (BAL) of the new launcher and on the assembly of the aeraulic and hydraulic networks of the launch pad located in the launch zone. Finally, they also installed the HAVC systems of about ten buildings on site.
One project, three contracts
In addition to the ELA-4 project, EQUANS built the air-conditioning infrastructures for the extension of the Booster Integration Building (BIP), intended for the P120 boosters of Ariane 6 and the Vega C launcher and for the EFF building (ESR Finishing Facilities). This building allows the ESRs (Ariane 6 boosters) to be verticalized and, in this way, the end of the AIT operations of the ESRs to be carried out vertically, before they are taken to the BSB building for storage.
Local presence and expertise
The EQUANS’ project teams based in Belgium have a proven track-record in the design, supply, installation and commissioning of industrial cooling & air-conditioning installations. They can rely on the experienced local teams of the Société kouroucienne de froid (SKF), a subsidiary of EQUANS, for the project implementation, maintenance and operations. The long-standing EQUANS presence is complemented by a large network of local partners, mainly SMEs and local craftsmen. Before working on the launch pad ELA-4, our team contributed to the “Kelvin” chilled water plant, the Vega and Soyuz launch areas, the new FCUBE building and the S5 EPCU.
Maintenance & operations
Besides building the infrastructures for ELAN-4, the local teams are also in charge of the maintenance and operations services for the Ariane 5 launch site 3 (ELA-3) and the Vega and Soyuz Launch sites (ELV and ELS). Moreover, since July 2019 we have also been awarded the maintenance, operation and technical qualification of ELA-4.
