Soyuz flight VS06, carrying Gaia, lifted off from Europe's Spaceport, French Guiana, on 19 December 2013. This time-lapse movie shows Gaia sunshield deployment test, the transfer of the Soyuz from the assembly building to the launch pad and the lift off.
(Video courtesy of ESA--S. Corvaja, M. Pedoussaut.)
Page last updated: 16 January 2014