Eiffage Énergie Systèmes manages the fluid systems for the Multi-Launcher Complex in French Guiana on behalf of CNES

The Guiana Space Centre (CSG) in Kourou is acquiring a multi-launcher launch complex (ELM) designed to accommodate five European micro-launch operators: ISAR Aerospace and RFA (Germany), PLD Space (Spain), and Latitude and Sirius Space Services (France). CNES provides these industrial partners with what are known as ‘shared’ resources, while each company manages its own specific equipment. These shared resources include fluid delivery systems — liquid oxygen (LOX) and gaseous nitrogen (GN2) which are essential to any launch sequence. It is this Common Means Fluid Control and Command System (CCF MC) that our experts are tasked with developing. For Space & Newspace Sales Engineer Marine Ferreres, the objective is clear: “The timeframe presents a challenge, as the system must be operational in time for the first launch from the ELM, scheduled for late 2026 for PLD Space.”

Monitor, control, secure

The role of the CCF MC is to monitor, command, and control the ground-side fluid circuit in real time, 24/7, both during continuous operation and in the pre-launch sequence phases. It also ensures the safety of people and property by automatically resetting the systems to a safe state as soon as a problem is detected, and records all data for subsequent analysis and the revalidation of systems between launches. “In practical terms, this involves using the Syclone Real-Time software to control and monitor in real time all the fluid circuits — propellant supply, cryogenic fluid management, pressurisation systems — which are shared between several launchers at the launch site,” explained Marine Ferreres. The system is based on a redundant architecture: in the event of a malfunction, a “twin” system automatically takes over, with minimal service interruption of approximately 300 milliseconds. We guarantee a return to normal operation (redundant system) in less than 25 minutes.

A tried-and-tested software platform, inherited from Callisto Control Command

The real-time controller forms the solution’s hardware core. It reliably captures, stores, and transmits data from sensors and valves. Eiffage Énergie Systèmes also provides the electrical cabinet and rack design, incorporating the data acquisition modules, as well as the operator consoles that the CNES teams will use to manage the facilities. “The software orchestrating the whole system, Syclone Real-Time, comes with a suite of tools for creating variables, command sequences and synoptic diagrams that visually represent the system for operators,” continued Marine Ferreres. And this software platform is not new. It is based on the version developed by our experts for the operational monitoring and control of the Callisto reusable demonstrator, which Eiffage Énergie Systèmes has been supplying to CNES since 2023 and will continue to do until 2027.

The CCF MC, initiated in November 2025, is a key facility that the Eiffage Énergie Systèmes project team is building at the ELM site. The system will be operational in January 2027 and our experts are already in place to oversee the long-term monitoring and maintenance of the facilities, in order to provide the best possible support to tFrench and European space sectors in this new venture.

(c) CNES/L'Oeil du Chat/, 2023