Abstract
The construction of the Gaia satellite was entrusted to EADS Astrium, now Airbus Defence and Space, and was begun in 2006 in Toulouse, France. While Astrium was the prime contractor, the development and construction of the spacecraft involved many smaller subcontractors dealing with several different parts, like the CCDs of the focal plane, which were provided by the UK’s e2v Technologies, or the laser interferometers used to monitor the stability of the basic angle, which were awarded to the Dutch TNO, or the micro-propulsion system used for the attitude control, produced by the Italian branch of Thales Alenia Space.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Bernardi, G., Vecchiato, A. (2019). Building the Gaia Satellite. In: Understanding Gaia. Springer Praxis Books(). Praxis, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11449-7_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11449-7_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Praxis, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-11448-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-11449-7
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)