Gaia sunshield deployment test successful

Gaia has passed its critical sunshield deployment test. During the test at Europe’s spaceport in Kourou the shield’s twelve carbon fibre folding frames were opened successfully in the cleanroom. As the Deployable Sunshield Assembly (DSA) was not designed to support its own weight in the one-g environment at Earth’s surface, support cables and counterweights attached to the shield provided a realistic test environment. In space the 10.5 metre diameter sunshield will shade the spacecraft’s telescope from the sun. It will also help to provide a stable and low temperature environment.

A selection of videos, including a timelapse of the sunshield deployment test as well as interviews with Project Manager Giuseppe Sarri and Project Scientist Timo Prusti, are available on the ESA TV website. They can be found here