French Guiana: Guiana Space Center

The European Space Center is located here in Guiana (known as Guiana Space Center or GSC). It’s the launch pad for most of the satellites from the European Union countries and most importantly the French Ariane rocket space program. The location is the closest launch pad to the equator so the earth’s rotation gives the rocket the most boost. The center sprawls over a vast amount of jungle – there is a museum, an Ariane rocket, and further out are the actual launch pads that are typically off limits. The museum proudly displays the history of the French space exploration which wasn’t the first to get to space, walk in space, land on the moon, or pretty much anything else.