On Thursday 19 December 2013, the European Space Agency launched the Gaia Spacecraft from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Gaia will spend 5 years mapping over a billion celestial objects to create the most precise 3D map of our galaxy yet.

The modelling and simulations experts at SCISYS eagerly anticipated the launch of one of ESA’s most ambitious missions. SCISYS has been justifiably trusted with developing and maintaining the Gaia operational spacecraft simulator and its software engineers are immensely proud of it’s invaluable contribution to the mission preparation. The simulator is employed within the mission control centre and all mission phases from launch through orbit transfers and with science operations throughout the entire mission.

SCISYS has proven itself as a valuable and reliable partner for the preparation and operation of the space mission. From the early stages of the design, implementation, through the testing phases and onto the launch of the spacecraft, SCISYS has demonstrated its capability to deliver reliably within a critical timeframe.

“The Gaia simulator development team at SCISYS has worked really hard and I congratulate them on delivering a reliable and representative simulator that the customer is delighted with,” says Dr Spencer Ziegler, Business Manager at SCISYS Space in UK.

Beside the design, implementation and testing of the Gaia spacecraft simulator, SCISYS also provides expert on-site support to maximise the benefit of the simulator for all stakeholders.

About Gaia
As global space astrometry mission, Gaia will make the largest, most precise three-dimensional map of our Galaxy by surveying more than a thousand million stars. The spacecraft will monitor each of its target stars about 70 times over a five-year period. It will precisely chart their positions, distances, movements, and changes in brightness. The mission will also study about 500 000 distant quasars and will provide stringent new tests of Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity.