* Astronomy

According to the French Space Agency (CNES), the construction work on the infrastructure to allow launches of Soyuz spacecraft from the Kourou space centre in French Guiana will start in December, and are expected to be completed in July 2008.

The 135-million euros contract was signed by CNES Director of Launchers Michel Eymard and Pierre Berger, the chairman of Vinci Construction Grands Projects, which represents the especially established industrial group Soyuz-Infrastructure.
The program of cooperation between the European Space Agency and the Russian Space Agency envisages launches of Russian Soyuz-ST space carriers from the Kourou space centre and the work on the construction of the three-stage carrier, Soyuz-2-1B.
The first launch of Soyuz spacecraft from the French space centre is planned for the second half of 2008.



Kourou is a town and commune in French Guiana, some 40 km northwest of the capital Cayenne. The Centre Spatial Guyanais (Guiana Space Centre), where the European Space Agency starts missions, is located outside the town.