ESA Gaia spacecraft’s Deployable Sunshield Assembly (DSA) deployment test

Gaia spacecraft’s Deployable Sunshield Assembly (DSA) underwent deployment testing in the S1B integration building at Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on Oct. 10, 2013. 

The shield has two purposes: to shade Gaia’s telescopes and cameras, and to provide power. 

Gaia spacecraft represents ESA’s billion-star surveyor, designed to provide a precise 3D map of the Milky Way galaxy in order to understand its composition, formation and evolution. 

The previously scheduled launch date for Gaia has been pushed back from Nov. 20, 2013, to the next available launch window from Dec. 17 to January 5, 2014.