The European Space Center in overseas territory French Guyana is investing hundreds of millions of euros to bolster and diversify its activities. A bid to keep up with international competition.
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00:00The space centre in overseas territory French Guiana in South America is Europe's only
00:06spaceport. At most, a handful of rockets each year take off from here. But that's set
00:13to change. The centre is investing 250 million euros to boost and diversify its activities.
00:20Here, a new control centre will be ready in 2026.
00:23We will aim for nine launches next year and, in the long run, 15 or more each year. We'll
00:35also accommodate micro-launchers at a site we are constructing. These private rockets
00:40have a reduced capacity, but you can put into space a lot more each year.
00:50Lillier says the gear-up is necessary not only since Russia's invasion of Ukraine,
00:55which brought space cooperation with Moscow to a halt. Competition has gotten rougher,
01:00not least through private players such as US billionaire Elon Musk and his company SpaceX.
01:09Everything is done through satellites nowadays, telecommunications, the weather forecast,
01:13climate surveys, etc. And so space has turned into a crucial economic sector. We need our
01:20own access to it and a spaceport that's fit for purpose.
01:25With more yearly launches to come, France-based supplier Europropulsion will have to provide
01:30more rocket motors. In future, it'll boost its staff from currently 39 to at least 45
01:37employees.
01:38We'll increase our capacity to two production lines and we'll have to give further training
01:47to our people. Our aim is to maintain our turnover. We'll reduce costs per motor so
01:53that European rockets can be competitive on an international level.
02:01More business at the space centre will be a boon to the local economy. The spaceport's
02:06activities currently represent about 15% of French Guyana's GDP. In future, at least
02:131,800 people will work at the space centre, up from 1,500 now. But this economist says
02:20that even with the planned construction works, the space centre will have to do more to keep
02:25up with international competition.
02:32SpaceX launches at least 100 rockets per year, whereas Europe plans to launch about 10 yearly.
02:37This is not comparable. And most of the micro-launches haven't reached the commercial stage yet.
02:43They are not ready. And yet, they are not only economic arguments to modernise the space
02:52centre.
02:53There are so many players now. China, the US with their own policy, Russia, we're just
03:00no longer launching from here. So it's important to have our own spaceport and strategy.
03:09As the world continues to reach for the stars, but there might be less cooperation and more
03:21competition between the different countries.