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At the European Space Agency (ESA) annual press conference to preview the year ahead, ESA director-general Jean-Jacques Dordain described how Europe will have three different rockets operating from its French Guiana spaceport in the coming months - Ariane 5, the Russian Soyuz vehicle and a new small launcher named Vega.

ESA's policy in the past has been to exploit the ever-reliable Ariane launcher as a sole workhorse, however they plan to exploit these three launchers in parallel during 2011 instead. This is a complex undertaking that has required the construction of an entirely new launch facility for Soyuz in French Guiana, allowing the Russian-built vehicle to shift some of its operations from its current home - the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The first Soyuz lift-off is provisionally scheduled for between 15 August - 15 September, and its first task will be to carry two satellites for Europe's Galileo satellite-navigation system into orbit.

Meanwhile, the new launcher: Vega will use the old Ariane 1, 2 and 3 pad which has been especially renovated for these new operations. Vega is a brand new design, and its payload opportunity has been given to some small, inexpensive scientific spacecraft rather than to high-value institutional or commercial ventures; Vega's maiden flight is pencilled in for the second half of the year.

Dordain described how this new set-up is: "a contribution of the member-states to the guarantee of access to space".

With three different rockets in its stable, the South American spaceport is going to be extremely busy. Launches could be occurring at the rate of about one a month in future, offering a great opportunity for public engagement with a wide range of different missions.

Article originally appeared on the BBC News website