The European Space Agency dismantled the launch infrastructure of Russian rockets at the French spaceport. The site will be transferred to a startup for launching a new European rocket.
The European Space Agency (ESA) destroyed the 52-meter mobile service tower of the Russian Soyuz-ST rocket launch complex at the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana with a directed explosion, former head of the Roscosmos press service Dmitry Strugovets reported on Thursday, April 23. Before the explosion, four truss supports - the so-called "tulip," which held the rocket before launch - were cut at the launch pad, and cable masts were dismantled, according to DW.
The remaining infrastructure - the assembly and testing complex, railway, liquid oxygen storage, and fueling stations - will be transferred to the startup Maiaspace, a subsidiary of the French Arianespace, for launching a new rocket. Up to 80% of the previous infrastructure is planned to be preserved for this purpose. The first launch of the Maia rocket is scheduled for 2027.
End of a 15-Year Partnership
The joint ESA and Roscosmos program "Soyuz at Kourou" for commercial launches lasted 15 years: during this time, 26 successful launches were made from the spaceport. After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. and EU imposed sanctions on the Russian space industry, and Roscosmos announced the cessation of launches and recalled Russian specialists in February 2022.
Kourou is more advantageous than Baikonur for commercial launches: its proximity to the equator provides rockets with a speed boost due to the faster rotation of the Earth's surface.
Maia Rocket and New Contracts
The company Maiaspace was founded in 2022. Its two-stage Maia rocket, 50 m long and 3.5 m in diameter, will be equipped with three oxygen-methane Prometheus engines on the first stage and one vacuum version on the second. In its expendable version, the rocket will be able to deliver up to 1.5 tons of payload to a sun-synchronous orbit, and in its partially reusable version, up to 500 kg. A Colibri upper stage is also planned.
In March 2025, Maiaspace signed its first commercial contract with the French company Exotrail, and in January 2026, it reached an agreement with Eutelsat for launching OneWeb satellites.
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