A consortium led by French construction group Eiffage has been awarded a contract to build the launch complex for the Ariane 6 rocket, the European Space Agency’s next generation launch vehicle, which is due to enter service in 2020.
The contract, which is worth $220m, was awarded by the Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES), the French space agency.
The Ariane 6 rocket (Wikimedia Commons)
The complex will be built at the French and European spaceport near Kourou in French Guiana.
The Éclair6 consortium consists of:
- Eiffage Civil Engineering
- Clemessy, a subsidiary of Eiffage Energy
- SEH, a German subsidiary of Eiffage Metal,
- Engie Axima, a specialist in fire protection
- Icop, an Italian groundworks specialist.
The scope of the work will include a launch pad and its two flame trenches, the 6,000-tonne, 90-metre-high mobile service gantry and a launcher assembly building.
Development will involve 50,000 cubic metres of concrete, 7,000 tonnes of reinforcement, 400,000 cubic metres of earth and 7,500 tonnes of structural steel.
Eiffage said the project would create "significant employment and integration opportunities for Guianese youngsters and several local subcontractors and suppliers of materials and equipment will be closely involved in construction work".
Construction is scheduled for completion in October 2018.
