National Geographic: Destination Space Page #4

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The adrenaline was

very, very strong,

because I was expecting

a major breach of the station,

I mean, where the air

would just rush out like,

you know, if you get sucked out

of it, basically.

My immediate thought was,

"We are leaving the station.

We have all got to get into

the Soyuz and that's it."

Mir's pressure alarm blares.

If they can't seal the breach

in 30 minutes,

Foale and his crewmates

will have to evacuate.

Throughout history,

explorers and pioneers

have had to face terrible dangers.

Vasco da Gama, Columbus and Magellan

put their lives at risk

to blaze trails into the unknown.

On the heels of heroes

come entrepreneurs.

Companies are now chasing profits

as satellite communication

is woven into the fabric of

everyday life.

Getting these satellites into orbit

is a competitive and risky enterprise.

In the race for money,

the space business is spreading

to unlikely places around the globe.

When it comes to launches,

French Guiana is hot, hot, hot.

Built in 1968, a space center has

electrified this once quiet country.

The space center is not only

playing the role of

sending satellites into the orbit,

but it's playing also the role

in human relations.

Because here is a melting pot

of all races.

The space center has given an economic

boost to the economy of Guiana.

From the coastal jungle, a French-led

company called Arianespace

has carved out one of the most

advanced launch sites in the world.

We are situated here in French Guiana

simply because this is

the best site in the world

for launching commercial satellites.

Competitors who launch farther from

the equator need more fuel

to lift their payloads into

coveted orbits over the equator.

From Kourou, French Guiana,

a satellite has a shorter and

cheaper path into equatorial orbit.

We have the most reliable launcher

five years without a failure.

We launch every month,

about 12 launches a year.

And demand just keeps growing.

It will take several years

for Arianespace

to work through its backlog

of launches.

While we are signing a contract

in New York,

a satellite is being shipped

at the same time to Kourou.

The launcher for that satellite

is ready to go.

And while we are readying

that launcher,

another launcher is being assembled,

and a third launcher is being shipped

in pieces from Europe to Kourou.

So it's a permanent year-long

We bring your own customers here

in Kourou to actually see the launch,

we bring your engineers to process

the satellites,

and we do the full service

from earth to space.

That's our business.

The customer comes first

in the new race for space.

So, Arianespace has mastered the art

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