An Ariane 5 moving into the launch zone at Kourou, French Guiana. Photo: Arianespace

[Via Satellite 10-15-2014] CNES, the French space agency, has renewed a six-year bilateral agreement with 17 Guianese municipalities. From 2014 to 2020, the agency will provide approximately $15.5 million for economic, social and cultural development.

The French government began operating from Kourou in 1964, and has shared the center with the European Space Agency (ESA) since 1975. European launch provider Arianespace is able to benefit from the site’s proximity to the equator — slightly more than 500km away — to place satellites in geostationary transfer orbit with a minimal number of trajectory adjustments.

The new agreement allocates funds to bolster heritage renewal programs, tourist, sporting, education and other projects. A previous agreement from 2007 to 2013 provided nearly $15 million for the same purposes.