Unique telescope launched into space

European scientists realized ambitious project worth 740 million euros - launched into space the world's largest digital camera with a resolution of 938MP. It is equipped with a matrix size of 1x0,5 m. The development of this spacecraft took 20 years.

The purpose of the study is to count all the surrounding stars, make an accurate map of the Milky Way and create a three-dimensional model of our galaxy. It is assumed that the telescope will stay in space for five years and during that time will make 70 shooting sky. Thus it will be able to map the position of the stars, learn the distance to them and determine the speed and direction of their movement.

The craft was launched at the carrier rocket "Soyuz" from Kourou (on the map you can see that it is situated in the overseas region of France - Guiana , located in the northeast of South America). The telescope launch was scheduled for November 2013. But experts have found the problem, because of which the unit was sent back to Europe for improvements.