ESA’s Gaia mission: Successful Launch - Video

ESA’s Gaia mission to survey a billion stars has lifted off, a number of automated sequences were completed and the launch declared a success.

Some 118 seconds after liftoff, the rocket’s four boosters are jettisoned, followed by the fairing at 220 seconds.

The fairing protects Gaia during the turbulent first few minutes of its journey up through Earth’s atmosphere.

Soyuz VS06 transfer to launch zone

Separation of the rocket’s second and third stages was followed by two burns of the Fregat upper stage, before it too separated from Gaia 42 minutes after launch.

This activated Gaia’s automatic sequence, including switching on its transmitters, setting its attitude with respect to the Sun, and deploying the 10.5 m-wide sunshield, starting 88 minutes after launch.

The whole sequence ended 101 minutes after launch, after which mission controllers confirmed completion of the most critical part of the ‘launch and early orbit’ phase of the mission.

Hoisting of upper composite

At this point, Gaia will be on its way to Lagrange Point, ‘L2’, a gravitationally stable point in space some 1.5 million kilometres ‘behind’ Earth as seen from the Sun.

After three course corrections, the spacecraft will arrive in its orbit around L2 about three weeks later.

From there, Gaia will conduct the biggest cosmic census yet, charting the positions, motions and characteristics of a billion stars to create the most precise 3D map of our Milky Way.

ESA’s Gaia mission: Soyuz VS06 was transferred to the launch zone

Soyuz VS06 was transferred to the launch zone on 14 December 2013.

The vehicle was rolled out horizontally on its erector from the preparation building to the launch zone and then raised into the vertical position.

Soyuz VS06 will lift off on 19 December 2013 from Europe's Spaceport, French Guiana. 

The rocket will carry the Gaia mission, which will produce an unprecedented 3D map of our Galaxy by mapping, with exquisite precision, the position and motion of a billion stars.

Soyuz VS06 upper composite, Gaia space observatory, was transferred to the pad and installed inside the mobile gantry on 14 December 2013.

ESA Gaia Mission: Sunshade deployment - Video

Gaia, ESA's billion-star surveyor, will be launched into space towards the end of this year. In the meantime, ESA Space Science has launched a new 'minisite' focused on the Gaia mission.

Once in space, Gaia will spend five years determining the precise distances and velocities of a billion stars. It will observe each star about 70 times, recording vital statistics such as brightness, colour and temperature.

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The resulting census will enable astronomers to identify different generations of stellar populations, and reconstruct their journey through space over time, thus providing the most detailed picture of our Galaxy’s structure and its evolution ever achieved.

In the animation presented here, Gaia is shown shortly after launch as it unfolds its 10 m-wide sunshield ‘skirt’.

The shield has two purposes: to shade Gaia’s sensitive telescopes and cameras, and to provide power to operate the spacecraft. Gaia will always point away from the Sun, so the underside of the skirt is partially covered with solar panels to generate electricity.

New animations like this, along with supporting background articles and topical news items, will be added to the minisite as the launch draws nearer, to explain in more detail the exciting science that Gaia will perform and how it will help us learn more about our place in the Universe.