Placing Gaia on top of the Soyuz launcher (9 of 12)
The Gaia spacecraft - mated with the Fregat stage and enclosed by the fairing - is lowered onto the Soyuz launcher, using an overhead crane inside the mobile gantry on the launch pad. The Soyuz launcher is below the platform inside the 53-metre tall mobile gantry and only the dome shaped top of it is visible in this photo.
Last Update: 1 September 2019