Centimetres is the precision of satellite positioning data from the DORIS instrument operating on several missions (Sentinel-3A and Sentinel-3B, Sentinel-6, SWOT, etc.).
Million km from Earth is where the U.S.-European James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the successor to Hubble, will orbit. It has taken 20 years to build and will be launched by a special variant of Ariane 5.
Laser shots on Mars fired by the French-U.S. ChemCam instrument on the Curiosity rover since landing in 2012.
Billion euros in funding secured for Europe’s space programme for 2020-2022 (2020-2024 for mandatory programmes) at the Space19+ ESA Ministerial Conference in late November 2019 in Seville.
Orbital probes, spacecraft and observatories launched for science over the last 50 years from the Guiana Space Centre: from Gaia and Rosetta to the SPOT satellites, Planck, Herschel and ATV, CNES has hosted a plethora of emblematic ‘passengers’.
Young students hosted every year by CNES for their end-of-degree internship.
Tonnes is the weight of the Ariane 6 mobile gantry, the largest of its kind in the world.
New small satellites set to be orbited between now and 2022.
Engineers and executives, 37% of them women, make up CNES’s workforce.
Pictures of satellites and launchers lifting off from Europe’s spaceport in the heart of French Guiana’s forest are viewed the world over, all made possible by the 1,700 people and 40 firms working at the base. Today, the Guiana Space Centre is evolving and upgrading to boost performance while preserving its environment
In 2021, CNES is celebrating a legacy of 60 years fuelling dreams and advancing science and technology. Today, society is in need of space and at CNES we are ready for a new decade of space exploration with you.