Satellite client visitors at Ariane launch facilities

Standing on weathered concrete at an old launchpad from a bygone age, space tourists stop to photograph the current Ariane 5 launchpad while on a tour of the European Space Agency at Kourou, French Guiana. They are mostly Japanese, representing their B-SAT communications satellite which is to be sent into orbit later that night alongside a US-made Hughes Corporation and Lockheed Martin technology. An American NASA space technician walks past the four Japanese as they hold cameras that record their souvenirs of a memorable day at this space facility deep in the South American rainforest. The orange bags carried by all are gas masks. Should the out of sight rocket booster explode or leak liguid propellant, dangerous fumes might overcome the visitors.

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Filename: esa_guiana09114-08-2007_1.jpg
Copyright: Richard Baker
Image Size: 5315x3543 / 1.4MB; http://www.bakerpictures.com; French Guiana French Guyana colonial space technology reportage photojournalism science satellite launch rocket ESA Ariane Kourou tropical equatorial orbital communications business aerospace European Space Agency Arianespace portal agency CNES port spatial European multinational co-operation international lancement complex mission commercial countdown Europropulsion payload launcher member states telecommunications navigation satnav GPS Spaceway 3 Hughes Lockheed-Martin BSAT-3 pre-flight preparations teamwork transportation vehicle industry work career job Richard Baker launch pad tourists visitors customers touring restful mass-tourism visitor leisure recreation vacation holiday tour travel tourist tourism clients technician engineer recce French Europe EU American Japanese heritage history past era bygone concrete launchpad old photography cameras tower development construction purpose hi-tech perspective scale facility French Space Agency high tall height exploration project spaceport
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Standing on weathered concrete at an old launchpad from a bygone age, space tourists stop to photograph the current Ariane 5 launchpad while on a tour of the European Space Agency at Kourou, French Guiana. They are mostly Japanese, representing their B-SAT communications satellite which is to be sent into orbit later that night alongside a US-made Hughes Corporation and Lockheed Martin technology. An American NASA space technician walks past the four Japanese as they hold cameras that record their souvenirs of a memorable day at this space facility deep in the South American rainforest. The orange bags carried by all are gas masks. Should the out of sight rocket booster explode or leak liguid propellant, dangerous fumes might overcome the visitors.