Spaceflight

French government guarantees $160 million of Arianespace's construction loan to enable building of launch facility

Work on the Soyuz-2 launch pad near Sinnamary in French Guiana can begin following a French government guarantee of a construction loan of €121 million ($160 million).

French prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said last month an agreement had been reached on funding the Soyuz launch facility.

France will guarantee the loan requested by Arianespace from the European Bank of Investment. The loan will cover part of the estimated €340 million cost of putting in place infrastructure for the launch of Russian Soyuz-2 boosters from the European Space Agency's facilities in French Guiana.

ESA's Soyuz from French Guiana programme aims to ensure commercial Soyuz-2 launches can begin with Arianespace in 2007 (Flight International, 16-22 November 2004).

Meanwhile, the suborbital flight test of an inflatable re-entry cone, known as Demonstrator-2, has been delayed to April. Developed by Moscow's Lavochkin, ESA and EADS Space Transportation, the cone inflates using nitrogen to protect cargo against re-entry temperatures of up to 6,000¡C.

Additional tests were required to ensure a safe launch on an SS-N-18 ballistic missile from a submarine in the Barents Sea. There were also concerns about the weather conditions in the landing zone.

ROB COPPINGER / LONDON