A few dates
The exploration of Space
| 4 October, 1957 | The Soviet Union inaugurated the Space era and became the first Space power when it launched the Sputnik-1 satellite from the Baikonur cosmodrome. |
| 31 January, 1958 | The United States launched the Explorer-1 satellite from Cape Canaveral, in Florida and thus became the second Space power. |
| 26 November, 1965 | France became the third Space power with the launching of the Diamant rocket from the Hammaguir launch pad (Algerian Sahara). |
| 11 February, 1970 | Japan became the fourth Space power when it placed its first satellite Oshumi in orbit from the Kagoshima Space centre. |
| 24 April, 1970 | China became the fifth Space power with its Long March rocket launched from the Jiuquan base. |
| 28 October, 1971 | The United Kingdom became the sixth Space power when it put its only satellite, Prospero in orbit. |
| 18 July, 1980 | India launched its first satellite Rohini 1 from the Shriharikota base and thus became the seventh Space power. |
| 19 September, 1988 | The Israeli Space centre at Palmahim became operational with the launching of the Offecq satellite. |
| 5 December, 1989 | Iraq successfully tested a launcher, but without a satellite. |
The Guiana Space Centre
| 19 March, 1946 | Guiana became a French overseas département |
| 19 December, 1961 | CNES was founded |
| 14 April, 1964 | A ministerial decree was issued creating a new Space base at Kourou in French Guiana |
| 1965 | Installation of CNES and the CSG at Kourou |
| 1966 | Beginning of work on the Kourou facilities |
| 9 avril 1968 | 1st launch of a Veronica probe rocket from CSG |
| 1973 | Creation of ESA, the European Space Agency |
| 24 December, 1979 | 1st Ariane 1 launch |
| 4 August, 1984 | 1st Ariane 3 launch |
| 15 June, 1988 | 1st Ariane 4 launch |
| 4 June, 1996 | 1st Ariane 5 launch |
|
23 September, 1997 |
100th Ariane launch |
| 10 December, 1999 | 1st commercial Ariane 5 launch |
| 15 February, 2003 | last Ariane 4 launch |
