Gaia, ESA’s next-generation star mapper, will be carried into space by a Soyuz-STB/Fregat launch vehicle from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.
David Southwood, ESA’s Director of Science and Robotic Exploration, signed the contract for the launch with Jean-Yves Le Gall, Chairman and CEO of Arianespace, at ESA Headquarters in Paris, 15 December 2009.