The CSG 2000 programme: Modernising Europe's Spaceport for the next 20 years

J.de Dalmau

ESA

The CSG 2000 programme was decided in 1988 to upgrade the ground infrastructure at the Guiana Space Centre (CSG) for Ariane-4 and Ariane-5 launches with increased reliability and reduced cost until the year 2010-2015. It consists of a thorough modernisation of all major Spaceport systems: tracking and position-plotting, flight safety, telemetry and down-range stations, ground operations and safety coordination, telecommunications, meteorology services and general infrastructure.

INTRODUCTION

Development and installation of equipment started in 1991 under CNES management, with participation of industry from ESA Member States. The overall investment exceeding 130 million ECU spans over the 1991-1998 period, but most CST 2000 systems will be operational for the first Ariane-5 launch at the end of 1995.

The CSG premises, employing over 1200 people, accommodate two sets of facilities, each under a specific management structure.

• Facilities dedicated to launcher production or spacecraft preparation (beyond the scope of this article), employing about 400 staff: the Ariane Launch Complexes (ELA) for vehicle assembly, check-out and launch; the Spacecraft Preparation Complex (EPCU); the propellant plants (solid and cryogenic), the integration and test-firing facilities for the Ariane-5 solid boosters. These facilities are operated by different European firms: Arianespace, Regulus, Euro-propulsion, Air Liquide, Aérospatiale and their subcontractors.

• The general Spaceport or 'range' facilities and support equipment, most of them located at the Technical Centre (Fig. 1) and at the down-range tracking stations; the ESA-financed part amounts to two thirds of the total annual budget of about 110 million ECU; the remaining third is covered by CNES, which is also managing the daily activities at the range with the support of European industrial contractors (more than 800 staff). The CSG 2000 programme described in this article is part of the annual investment plan of the Spaceport.

Figure 1. Layout of facilities at the Guiana Space Centre - Europe's Spaceport.

THE CSG 2000 OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the CSG 2000 programme are to provide, within the timeframe from now to the year 2015 for the fulfilment of the Spaceport's missions.

Protection of personnel, property and environment

One of the main missions of the Spaceport is to guarantee the 'launching state' liability, according to the 1972 International Convention on Liability for Damages Caused by Space Objects. Thus, the Spaceport is responsible for the protection of population, facilities and the environment during ground operations (called ground safety) and during launches (called in-flight safety). These activities are performed by more than 20 persons: safety and environment engineers and technicians, fire brigade, security guards.

High-quality support to launch services:

• launcher tracking and reception of the telemetry data for real-time and post-flight analysis, using ground stations located in French Guiana and overseas;

• general operations scheduling and coordination during launch campaigns and countdown operations;

• support to activities carried out in ELA and EPCU complexes: meteorological services, access control to restricted areas, road/air/sea transportation, back-up energy supply and air conditioning, photo and video production, archiving, public relations.

The following criteria are driving the development of CSG 2000:

• to improve the performance and reduce operating costs, replacing old technologies by state-of-the- art, automated ones with a lifetime guarantee of about 20 years;

• to adapt the facilities to the needs of Ariane-5 in terms of launch rate, higher mission reliability, new telemetry standards, new trajectories implying new tracking stations;

• to avoid interference with Ariane-4 launch operations running in parallel.

PROTECTION OF PERSONNEL, PROPERTY AND ENVIRONMENT

Before a new type of hazardous operation is authorised (e.g. filling a new type of spacecraft, launching into a new trajectory or performing a static firing test), a detailed 'safety submission' process is undertaken by CSG's safety engineers.

The CSG 2000 Ground Safety Coordination project (CSS) includes the installation of a new control and command building at the Technical Centre and new control rooms for the fire brigade. CSS provides voice, video and data links to all CSG sites where hazardous operations may be conducted. A computerised Safety Decision Aid (ADS), capable of simulating the evolution of a leakage cloud, has been developed to help the decision-making process in case of an accident.

The main Flight Safety sensors are tracking radars and position-plotting software located in French Guiana, complemented by close-range optical cameras that monitor the lift-off phase, and (for comparison) by telemetry stations receiving the launcher's onboard inertial guidance data.

Through real-time computer processing of the radar information, the flight safety officer monitors the launcher's position and behaviour. A special CSG 2000 software has been developed that can display permanently the theoretical impact zone of the launcher's debris in case of a propulsion failure. The new software also takes into account the atmospheric drag and the effect of wind on the debris.

TRACKING AND TELEMETRY

The Flight Safety and the Launcher Authority both require a large amount of information:

• during flight, to monitor the correct operation of the vehicle (guidance and control, propulsion, separation sequences) on the quick-look displays;

• at the end of launch mission (separation of the spacecraft from the launcher's upper composite), to inform the customer, via Arianespace, of the orbital and attitude parameters at separation;

• after the flight, to analyse the hundreds of flight parameters describing the behaviour of electrical, mechanical and propulsion subsystems.

Tracking the launcher

The CSG 2000 Tracking and Plotting upgrade project (SLT) started in 1991 and involves:

• upgrading hardware and software on the three radars located in French Guiana. They have been operating very satisfactorily since the early days of the Spaceport;

• improving the performances of the telescope located on Salvation Islands (Fig.1), which monitor the launcher's behaviour and stage separation, independently from cloud coverage and daylight.

The down-range telemetry stations

Be it for Ariane-4 or Ariane-5 launches, for eastward (GTO) or northward (SSO or LEO orbits) launch trajectories (see Fig. 4), telemetry has to be received without any interruption by down-range stations that record and dispatch the data to the processing centres. In French Guiana, two redundant antennae are located on Montagne des Pères, a hill some 25 km southeast of the launch pads.

Figure 4. Artist's view of the new Space Museum and Jupiter-2 building to be inaugurated in 1995, next to the existing Technical Centre facilities.

For eastward launches (more than 80% of all Ariane missions are GTO), the network is as follows (Fig. 2):

Figure 2. Ariane down-range stations: from lift-off to launcher end-of-mission, telemetry is received without interruption for real-time and post-flight processing.

• Natal (Brazil): an Agreement with the Brazilian Government allows the use of Brazilian facilities within the perimeter of the launch range of Natal, where additional ESA equipment has been installed (Fig. 3);

• Ascension Island (UK, South Atlantic): an ESA station was built in 1991, as the NASA station giving support to Ariane was closed;

• Libreville (Gabon, west coast of Africa): another ESA station was installed in 1987;

• Malindi (Kenya, East Africa): an additional station, offering a better visibility of the Ariane-5 end-of-mission, is presently scheduled to be installed within the facilities of the University of Rome.

Figure 3. The Natal tracking and telemetry station (photo Concorde Europe Films, M. Lavastrou)

Northward missions are far less frequent. Agreements are set up on a case by case basis with NASA, NOAA or the Canadian Space Agency to use some of their stations.

CSG 2000 improvements (SYSTA project) include:

• an increase of the reliability of the antenna driving mechanisms in all down-range stations to avoid the cost of redundant antennae at each station;

• an increase of the tracking performances of the telemetry antennae with a new reception system to guarantee uninterrupted telemetry reception;

• for Ariane-5, an introduction of a new telemetry standard, recommended by the international Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS), that simplifies the ground processing of the signal and improves the launcher-to-ground link;

• an increased storage capacity at the stations and a higher telemetry transmission rate from the stations to the processing centres in French Guiana and in Europe.

OPERATIONS COORDINATION

To support the CSG 2000 programme:

• a new computerised Operations Planning tool (PLO) has been installed;

• a new multi-mission Control Centre (CDC) is being built in the new Jupiter-2 building. From remotely located control rooms (meteorology, safety, tracking and telemetry stations, telecommunications, etc.), information converges to CDC, where final launch authorisation is given. The new CDC has been designed to handle Ariane-4 as well as Ariane-5 launches: all consoles are interchangeable and display in a user-friendly manner the status of countdown and the actual configuration of CSG's systems.

THE SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE

Telecommunication networks have been completely upgraded with the installation of an extensive optic fibre network (ASTRE) linking all the CSG's sites and consisting of:

• 'Romulus': for operational services (intercoms, specialised telephone links, video and data) via a dedicated network which is independent from external carriers;

• 'Remus': for corporate services (phone, fax, office automation, video conference).

A synchronisation system linking all sites drives the equipment that has to follow a precise and synchronised time scale. Supply and distribution of air conditioning and back-up power is upgraded with more powerful and reliable equipment.

The CSG 2000 meteorological project (SAM) is installing state-of-the-art equipment for local measurements of temperature, electrical field, wind (including shearing winds in altitude) and for large-scale observation: weather radar, satellite pictures, meteorological charts.

Major upgrades of the public relations facilities are being finalised:

• a new Space Museum, next to the Technical Centre, with an observation deck and a full-scale mock-up of Ariane, will be open daily to the public (Fig. 4);

• for launch events, a new VIP room (seating 250), a new press centre in the Jupiter-2 building, and five launch observation sites will host more than one thousand visitors.

Figure 4. Artist's view of the new Space Museum and Jupiter-2 building to be inaugurated in 1995, next to the existing Technical Centre facilities.

CONCLUSIONS

Through the CSG 2000 programme, the Guiana Space Centre, Europe's Spaceport, will maintain its high standards as one of the best spaceports in the world. Regular upgrading of equipment and training of personnel are a guarantee of best performance whether for the protection of personnel, property and environment or for the reception and processing of telemetry data in support to launch services, The high availability and reliability of all critical equipment are a guarantee to 'launching on time'.