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Mission record

Gaia

Also known as Global Astrometric Interferometer for Astrophysics

ESA · Launched

Explore trajectory

Completed · Success

ESA's Gaia determined the positions of nearly two billion objects to create a 3D map of the Milky Way from a Lissajous-type orbit around L2.

Destinations

No celestial-body destination recorded; this extended-scope observatory studies a non-body scientific domain.

Launch vehicle
Soyuz-STB/Fregat-MT
Launch site
Guiana Space Center, Soyuz Launch Complex (ELS)
Countries
International
Mission types
Observatory

Chronology

Mission timeline

  1. Launch

    Gaia launched

    Earth

Mission architecture

Vehicles

  • Gaia · Spacecraft

Trajectory record

Time-dependent navigation trajectory

Source states place the model at the selected time. Reconstructed flight, estimates, predictions and historical mission plans are identified by interval; gaps remain visible.

J2000 · Sun-centered display · positions interpolated between source states

Coverage: December 19, 2013 to December 31, 2035

Source records and sampling assumptions are retained with the repository data. Model attitude and surface appearance are illustrative.

  • Gaia: Reconstructed · December 19, 2013 to December 31, 2035

Provenance

Sources

Each source is listed once and labeled with the mission, event, trajectory, or destination/body context it supports.

Data verified through October 12, 2026