Base design authority
Quite naturally, CNES has installed facilities on the outer edges of the base with the mangrove being a natural boundary on the coastline; especially for sites in which risky activities are to be undertaken.
The installation of production plants was a trade-off between compliance with the safety distances determined during impact and safety studies and the required optimization of operational flows between sites or establishments.
At the moment, there are three main reasons for planning for the medium and long-term future by devising a Master Plan for which CNES/CSG would be the design authority. These three reasons are :
- the initial surface area of the CNES domain in French Guiana has been reduced to 65,000 hectares, after transfer of land not being used for Space activities, to neighbouring communes. Within this domain, CNES has a coastal strip of about 15 km for installing its launch zones. The Master Plan would study an optimized strategy for land use which would be compatible with sustainable Space activity and would validate it,
- the installation within the centre of production plants and tests benches requires, a priori, identification of future industrial zones and test zones which would be compatible with each other but also with potential launch sites,
- the arrival of other launchers to ensure autonomous access to Space for Europe requires planning sharing of resources and preserving the potential for the development of government activities.
CNES/CSG participates systematically in studies of such evolutions and at the same time, as technical authority, assumes full responsibility for safety and security matters with respect to the Government.
