Gaia spacecraft reaches L2
Posted: Thu, Jan 16, 2014, 7:04 AM ET (1204 GMT)
A European astronomy spacecraft launched last month entered orbit this week around the Earth-Sun L2 Lagrange point. ESA reported that the Gaia spacecraft fired its thrusters Tuesday at 10:30 am EST (1530 GMT) to place it into an orbit around the L2 point, 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. Gaia, launched last month on a Soyuz rocket, is designed to map the positions of one billion stars during its five-year mission, creating the most accurate star catalog to date.
A European astronomy spacecraft launched last month entered orbit this week around the Earth-Sun L2 Lagrange point. ESA reported that the Gaia spacecraft fired its thrusters Tuesday at 10:30 am EST (1530 GMT) to place it into an orbit around the L2 point, 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. Gaia, launched last month on a Soyuz rocket, is designed to map the positions of one billion stars during its five-year mission, creating the most accurate star catalog to date.
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