LISA Pathfinder launch (C)

Artist’s impression of the Vega rocket carrying LISA Pathfinder into orbit, showing the moment the aerodynamic fairing is jettisoned.

LISA Pathfinder will test key technologies for space-based observation of gravitational waves – ripples in the fabric of spacetime that are predicted by Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity.

Full animated sequence: LISA Pathfinder launch animation