The ‘Centre Spatial Guyanais’ (CSG) otherwise known as the Guiana Space Centre near Kourou in French Guiana is the spaceport which France shares with the European Space Agency (ESA). Besides being the launch site for European Ariane rockets, it also provides launch facilities for the ESA, the French space agency CNES, and now Russian Soyuz rockets too.

Geutebruck France has been involved in developing the CSG’s high security environment since 2006. With the completion of the latest installations at the CSG harbour in Kourou and the new Vega and Soyuz launch sites almost all the spaceport is protected with Geutebruck systems.

The space centre’s 850 square kilometre site includes launch facilities, satellite and rocket assembly buildings and a rocket propellant production plant.

Its coastal location means valuable payloads arriving by ship do not have far to travel, and that rockets are launched over water rather than over populated areas. Proximity to the equator ensures that rockets get maximum assistance from the earth’s rotation and that it is easier and cheaper to manoeuvre satellites into geosynchronous orbit. But the hot sticky equatorial climate brings challenges for electronic hardware.

With potential hazards including corrosion, condensation, the gradual loosening of electrical connections, galvanic coupling, dirty contacts, and more, Geutebruck selected materials for resistance to moisture and mould; sealed against insects and the external climate, and eliminated the possibility of condensation in its cabinets and devices.

Video security equipment currently in use includes around 80 Geviscope high end video system platforms, 42 Geviraid systems, 10 evaluation stations and 10 viewer stations with tailor-made monitor walls along with 670 cameras, 1200 Helios floodlights and a 140-terabyte database. Besides supporting typical security tasks, such as surveillance of the 35 kilometre perimeter, these systems are also used for monitoring operational processes.