French launch services provider Latitude has announced that it will conduct the inaugural flight of its Zephyr rocket from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana. The company has committed €8 million to developing its section of a new commercial launch facility being constructed by the French space agency CNES on the grounds of the former Diamant launch complex.
The new commercial launch site at the Guiana Space Centre will accommodate up to five launch companies, with a combined maximum of 40 launches per year. The facility will offer shared resources as part of a €50 million development project led by CNES under the France 2030 programme, alongside dedicated facilities for each launch company. Development of these dedicated facilities will be the responsibility of the individual companies.
In a 23 June update, Latitude confirmed the Guiana Space Centre as the launch site for the inaugural flight of its 19-metre-tall, two-stage Zephyr rocket, which is designed to deliver payloads of up to 200 kilograms to low Earth orbit. The site was one of two under consideration, with the company also having committed to developing launch infrastructure at SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland. When that partnership was announced in March 2022, Latitude, then known as Venture Orbital Systems, aimed to carry out its first launch from SaxaVord in 2024.
Construction of the ELM-Diamant shared launch facility began in 2025 and is expected to be completed by 2026. According to Latitude’s 23 June update, the company will work with CNES and the European Space Agency in the coming months to implement its dedicated launch infrastructure at the site. This will be followed by the inaugural launch of its Zephyr rocket in 2026.
In addition to building out its first launch facility, Latitude is also working on a new 25,000-square-metre manufacturing facility, which is expected to be capable of producing up to 50 Zephyr rockets per year. Construction of the new facility is expected to be completed by 2026 and is being supported by the French government through its France 2030 initiative.
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