<Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Map </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Map of Guiana Space Centre </Td> </Tr> <P> The Guiana Space Centre or, more commonly, Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG) is a French and European spaceport to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana . Operational since 1968, it is particularly suitable as a location for a spaceport as it fulfills the two major geographical requirements of such a site: </P> <Ul> <Li> it is near the equator, so that less energy is required to maneuver a spacecraft into an equatorial, geostationary orbit, and </Li> <Li> it has open sea to the east, so that lower stages of rockets and debris from launch failures cannot fall on human habitations . </Li> </Ul>

The major spacecraft launching centre in south america