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Gaia is a space observatory of the European Space Agency (ESA), launched in 2013 and operated until March 2025 (planned). The spacecraft is designed for astrometry: measuring the positions, distances and motions of stars with unprecedented precision, [5] [6] and the positions of exoplanets by measuring attributes about the stars they orbit such as their apparent magnitude and color. [7]
The first launch to use the complex occurred on 21 October 2011, when a Soyuz ST-B launched the first two Galileo In Orbit Validation spacecraft. [2]The site's equatorial latitude allows a greater payload mass to be delivered into geosynchronous transfer orbit compared to existing Soyuz launch facilities at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
He led the Gaia project till the Critical Design Review in 2008, establishing the payload concept, technical feasibility, operational and data analysis principles, its organisation structure, and coordinating its scientific case, leading to its successful launch in 2013.
Hipparcos ' follow-up mission, Gaia, was launched in 2013. The word "Hipparcos" is an acronym for HIgh Precision PARallax COllecting Satellite and also a reference to the ancient Greek astronomer Hipparchus of Nicaea, who is noted for applications of trigonometry to astronomy and his discovery of the precession of the equinoxes .
Maximum payload mass (kg) Reusable / Expendable Orbital launches including failures [a] Suborbital test flights Launch site(s) Dates of flight LEO GTO Other First Latest Starship Block 1 [140] United States: SpaceX: 121 m 40,000 – 50,000 [141] N/A N/A Reusable: 0 6 Starbase: 2023 2024 Angara A5 / Orion Russia: Khrunichev: 54.9 m N/A 6,500 ...
The Soyuz-ST-A and ST-B were modified versions of the Soyuz-2 rocket, designed to launch from the Guiana Space Centre (CSG) in French Guiana. Developed as part of a European Space Agency (ESA) programme to add a medium-lift launch vehicle to complement the light-lift Vega and heavy-lift Ariane 5 rockets.
The European Technology Exposure Facility (EuTEF) was a payload mounted on the exterior of the European Columbus laboratory, one of the modules of the International Space Station. The facility, mounted onto the exterior of Columbus , provided a platform for multiple types of experiments and materials to be exposed directly to the harsh space ...
A second EDRS payload was launched aboard a dedicated spacecraft. The EDRS-C (COSPAR 2019-049A), which is also carrying a laser communication terminal, was launched on 6 August 2019 [7] [8] and will be positioned at 31°E. [1] [9] The satellite also carries a payload meant for commercial communication satellite use, the HYLAS 3 payload.