Livestreaming of the media briefing on the first data release from ESAs Gaia mission will begin on 14 September at 09:30 GMT (11:30 CEST). The media briefing will provide examples of the performance of the satellite and its science data, and will highlight the research that can be done with this first data release. Read more
Title: Gaia Author: C. Cacciari, E. Pancino, M. Bellazzini
A review of the Gaia mission and its science performance after one year of operations will be presented, and the contribution to reconstructing the history of the Milky Way will be outlined.
European Space Agency's Gaia satellite's first discovery: surprise space debris
Scientists working with the European Space Agency's Gaia satellite have found that the spacecraft is being peppered by far more micrometeoroids than had been anticipated. The strikes shouldn't put Gaia in danger, although mission scientists will have to watch closely as the spacecraft begins its scientific observations. And the discovery might spell trouble for future spacecraft headed to the same orbital position. Read more
The orbiting Gaia telescope will lose some performance because stray light is getting inside the observatory, the European Space Agency (Esa) says. But the impacts are likely to be very small, scientists believe, and the expectation is that all the mission's chief objectives will still be met. Read more
On Friday, the European Space Agency's Gaia telescope will be flown to French Guiana to begin the preparations for launch on a Soyuz rocket in mid-November.
Gaia launcher separation test and Payload Module acceptance vibration tests completed
Testing of the separation of the Gaia Service Module from its Launch Vehicle Adapter has been completed, as have the acceptance vibration tests on the Payload Module. Two more important test campaigns have been completed, taking Gaia closer to launch readiness. The operation of the mechanism that will separate the spacecraft's Service Module (SVM) from the upper stage of its launcher has been verified and acceptance level vibration testing of the Payload Module (PLM) has been successfully concluded. Read more
Dialling down the heat on ESA's billion-star surveyor
ESA's Gaia mission to survey a billion stars has passed a gruelling test to prove it can withstand the extreme temperatures it will experience in space when it is launched next year. After arrival at its working position some 1.5 million km from Earth, Gaia will operate at a temperature of -110°C, shielded from the heat of the Sun by a giant shade attached to the spacecraft to keep its instruments in permanent shadow. Read more
ESA's Gaia star-mapper has passed a critical test ahead of its launch in 2013: the spacecraft's sunshield has been deployed for the first time. Gaia's sunshield is an essential component of the mission. It keeps Gaia in shadow, maintaining the scientific instruments at a constant temperature of around -110°C. Read more
I doubt those going to the Homebase DIY store in Chelmsford to buy a pot of paint give much thought to what goes on in the hi-tech factory building next door. This is the HQ of e2v, a company that made its name producing valves for the post-war television industry but which now produces camera sensors for some of the biggest space missions flying today. Read more