Very similar to French Guiana. Reasonably well-developed coastal civilization with an impenetrable rainforest interior.
Guiana as is has economic issues because it's part of the EU and subject to its rules and standards, so it can't trade very well with surrounding countries but also not with Europe because of the distance involved. Two areas being in the EU though in northern South America that border each other...they might be able to form a bit of a bloc and get some economy of scale going, making the cost of living cheaper. Could lead to more immigration to both.
Do you think the Netherlands would have been able to swing to get Dutch Guiana to be the launching site for EU space stuff instead of French Guiana?
Do you think the Netherlands would have been able to swing to get Dutch Guiana to be the launching site for EU space stuff instead of French Guiana?
Don't think so. France had a lot more sway in the EU and from what I understand Kourou is perfect for launches to an extent difficult to replicate anywhere else. Not sure exactly why off the top of my head.
The closer to the Equator you launch a rocket, the less it has to accelerate to reach orbit(unless you're talking about some other factor regarding Kourou). This means heavier payload with same fuel load, or lesser fuel load for the same payload.
No. The difference in latitude between Suriname and Kourou is not decisive (it amounts to a few dozen meters per second at most--practically nothing, in space terms), but what is decisive is the fact that France was the prime mover in European space efforts in the late 1960s and early 1970s and Kourou, of course, was French. With the British quitting the field, it was going to be French rockets being launched, and it was only reasonable to locate the launch pad in France (Guiana).Do you think the Netherlands would have been able to swing to get Dutch Guiana to be the launching site for EU space stuff instead of French Guiana?