Built to map a billion stars, Gaia readied for launch

The European Space Agency's Gaia spacecraft, fueled and ready to begin a mission mapping a billion stars, was closed up inside the nose shroud of a Soyuz rocket Thursday as the probe begins its final week of launch preparations.

The spacecraft is folded up in launch configuration, standing 4.4 meters (14.4 feet) tall and 3.8 meters (12.4 feet) in diameter. Fully fueled for liftoff, Gaia weighs 4,484 pounds.

Once in space, Gaia will deploy a thermal sunshield and cruise to the L2 Lagrange point about one million miles from the night side of Earth, where its twin telescopes will scan the sky and plot the positions and movement of the billion brightest stars in the galaxy.

Liftoff from the Guiana Space Center on South America's northern coast is set for Dec. 19 at 0912:18 GMT (4:12:18 a.m. EST).

See our Mission Status Center for the latest news on the launch.

Credit: ESA