The most famous shot ususally used in the news media
Kourou
ESA Space Center
The most amazing coincidence was to arrive in French Guiana for a couple of days, one of which I wanted to visit the European Space Agency's space launch complex, and there was a real satellite launch going on. People maneuver travel plans for months to make that happen. I just arrived and there it was. |
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The most famous shot ususally used in the news media |
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The Jupiter observation station, visitors center, and museum |
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On the way through Kourou I saw this great totem pole, this is America, after all, and this little one, visiting the space center with her mom, would rush at me and speak to me excitedly in French. Mom later took a picture of me in front of the Ariane V rocket and my favorite 'selfie' shot from this entire journey. |
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In the background, from this sneaked shot from the museum, which I did not visit, you can see the various EU launch vehicles, including the heavy lift Ariane V. In the foreground is the Saturn (partially hidden) which took the US to the Moon, the largest rocket to every leave the planet, and in front the successful US Space Shuttle, the failed Russian/Soviet space shuttle copy, and the one that started it all, the German V2 rocket |
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The personnel at the visitors center recommended that I go to the only first come first serve observation place that was not spoken for yet, the Carapa mountain observation site. This I did. I walked about a mile through the heat and was the first to arrive by a long shot. Since they had already set up the awning and chairs for the security folks, I settled in there. |
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This young readhead from England, and long term South America traveler, arrived an hour or two later, followed by Lutz, a German engineer for Siemens, in Shanghai, and his German speaking buddy from Brazil, who's family migrated there from Germany some 150 years ago. He is in the picture above with....you know, I lost touch with all of them. |
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Security people finally arrived, two teams of them, and here is Lutz, seated, showing his passport, his Brazilian friend standing |
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Then all we had to do was wait until they opened the gates about two hours prior to launch time. Here is the top of the mountain with a great view of the entire space launch complex. There were ultimately about 1000 people here. |
3D