Alternate ESA Launch Sites

Any other practical or convenient alternatives to the Kouru base in French Guiana?

Kourou is practically ideal from several aspects, combining a very low latitude with a very large range (north and east of the launch site as well) and easy sea access. It's pretty close to unrivaled in today's world in overall potential.

That said, Woomera, in Australia, was the initial ESA launch site (under the ELDO aegis), although the development of GSO communications satellites and other profitable and interesting low-latitude space applications meant that Woomera (which is in several respects rather non-ideal) would probably fall by the wayside at some point, although it might remain an important secondary launch site. For the British or Australians, of course, it's quite good.

Europe has few good launch sites on the continent itself (being the western peninsula of a rather northern continent does that), so any alternate site is likely to be within the colonial empire of the ESA's members. Therefore to some extent this is bound up in questions about post-colonial developments...but French Guiana is likely to come back up regardless.
 
One early problem with Kourou, presumably solved.

From Charles Martin's 'DH Blue Streak'

The entry to the port of Kourou is over a shallow sand bar, so that only small ships can dock. A small ship transporting Blue Streak as deck cargo menat that weather conditions dictated when the ship could make the Atlantic crossing.
 

Thande

Donor
The Italians are known for research into offshore launch sites like the modern SeaLaunch, although that's probably inadequate for a full-fledged ESA programme.

As Truth says, Korou is pretty ideal, but other sites might come up based on different patterns of decolonisation.
 
What about Reunion, Diego Garcia, or maybe Ascension. All nice and close to the Equator.

Of course, France would not be too wild about the 2nd & 3rd on that list.
 
the seychelles would be a good site then, and in case of a different decolonisation, somewhere at the coast of new guinea.
But have to say that kourou is already pretty optimal, especially because the region is also more politically stable than other potential sites near the equator.

Woomera would still be good for launches into a polar orbit.
 
there several proposals for ELDO launch site after Woomera launch site was unusable for Europa II rocket
here is the list:

The Seychelles archipelago
Trincomale (Sri Lanka)
Fort Dauphin (Madagascar Republic)
Mogadishu (Republic of Somalia)
Djibouti (French coast of Somaliland)
Port-Etienne (Islamic Republic of Mauritania)
San Marco italy (coast of Kenya)
Darwin (Australia)
The island of Nuku-Hiva Hiva (Marquises, French Polynesia)
The Touamotu archipelago (island of Rairoa, French Polynesia)
The island of Desirade (French West-Indies)
The island of Marie-Galante (French West-Indies)
The island of Trinidad
Cayenne (French Guiana)
Belem (Brazil)

NOTE all French location was also under consideration by CNES for a French Launch Site, in end it became Kourou (French Guiana).

It was fast selection for France
every site to reach true Panama or Suez cancel was rule-out (in case of blockade)
other sites were to remote for infrastructure like The Touamotu & Marquises archipelago

French Guiana was chosen because:
Easy access from France, good launch path over Atlantic
and french Foreign Legion on-site, who build later the site and protect it.
so the French could move there operations away from Algeria, Hammaguir launch site

As ELDO look for Europa-II launch site, the French Kourou space center was ready in use
 
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Would the Esrange site in northern Sweden work?

No, that's very badly located for orbital launch. Not only is at a very high latitude (killing launch vehicle performance), but it is also located well inland, which makes it harder to ship potentially large rocket stages to the site, particularly insofar as it mandates diameter limits for rail or road transport, or requires air transport which may have weather issues. There may also be range issues, ensuring that rocket flightpaths don't pass over people's homes and the like, though I would doubt that would be a serious issue in northern Sweden. The ocean is still the best launch range, however, although deserts and steppes can be pretty good.

The Soviet Union only established Baikonur where it did because they didn't control any low-latitude sea-accessible territory and because it was initially established for highly classified ballistic missile work, so they wouldn't want their vehicles to pass over foreign territory so much as possible. Since most of the trajectory was Siberia or Kazakhstan, and the Soviets cared less about the native populations, this was quite practical (unlike for the US). The Europeans have neither of those issues, so they don't have to settle for second-best like the Soviets.
 
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