Gaia has arrived in French Guiana

Gaia, departed on 23 August 2013 from Toulouse to the French Guiana. Gaia will be launched later this year from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou on a five-year mission to map the stars of the Milky Way with unprecedented precision.

Built by Astrium in Toulouse, the Gaia spacecraft took off on board an Antonov 124 heavy-lift aircraft from Toulouse airport with the destination of Cayenne, the capital of French Guiana. The spacecraft was later transported by truck to Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, 64 km from Cayenne.

“This is a very exciting day for the Gaia mission and all the teams involved, who have worked for years to get to where we are today,” said Giuseppe Sarri, ESA’s Gaia project manager. “Arriving in Kourou and starting the launch campaign is a great achievement.”

Sarri, who also flew on the Antonov aircraft with Gaia, said that the flight from Europe to South America went smoothly. “We are now looking forward to the coming weeks of final preparation, which we will undertake with the same care and determination that the teams have shown so far when building the spacecraft.”

On 28 August, a second Antonov 124 aircraft carried Gaia’s sunshield and most of the ground support equipment from Toulouse to Cayenne. At that point, all the spacecraft parts and equipment have been arrived in French Guiana, leading towards the launch later this year.