Photo of GAIA is courtesy of ESA.

A new launch date will be announced by Arianespace as soon as the spacecraft’s availability is confirmed.

Gaia was developed by the European Space Agency and produced by Astrium for a mission to chart a three-dimensional map of the Milky Way. In the process, it will reveal the galaxy’s composition, formation and evolution.

With a liftoff mass of 2,030 kg., Gaia is to be placed on a trajectory to an orbit around the Sun at a location known as the L2 Lagrangian point.