![](\"http:\/\/www.esa.int\/var\/esa\/storage\/images\/esa_multimedia\/images\/2014\/04\/tower_of_vega\/14475580-1-eng-GB\/Tower_of_Vega_small.jpg\")
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\nLooking up from the bottom of the mobile launch gantry for ESA\u2019s Vega launcher in French Guiana, as captured by photographer Edgar Martins.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe 50-m tall mobile gantry houses all the equipment needed for launch personnel to assemble and check Vega<\/a>, the newest member of Europe\u2019s launcher family. Once preparation is complete, the 1000-tonne gantry rolls back on rails, leaving the Vega launcher on its pad, ready for launch.\n<\/p>\n \nPortuguese-born Edgar Martins<\/a> has collaborated closely with ESA to produce a comprehensive photographic survey of the Agency\u2019s various facilities around the globe, together with those of its international partners.\n<\/p>\n \nThe striking results are collected in his new book and exhibition, entitled The Rehearsal of Space and The Poetic Impossibility to Manage the Infinite<\/i><\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \nCharacteristically empty of people, Martins\u2019 long-exposure photos \u2013 taken with analogue wide film cameras \u2013 possess a stark, reverent style. They document the variety of specialised installations and equipment needed to prepare missions for space, or to recreate orbital conditions for testing down on Earth.\n<\/p>\n \nMartins\u2019 exhibition opens at The Wapping Project \u2013 Bankside<\/a> in London on 25 April. His book is now available to order, shipping at the end of this month.\n<\/p>\n \nThis artistic collaboration is part of a number of events marking the 50th anniversary of European cooperation in space.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \t\t\t\t\t \nLooking up from the bottom of the mobile launch gantry for ESA\u2019s Vega launcher in French Guiana, as captured by photographer Edgar Martins.\n<\/p>\n \nThe 50-m tall mobile gantry houses all the equipment needed for launch personnel to assemble and check Vega<\/a>, the newest member of Europe\u2019s launcher family. Once preparation is complete, the 1000-tonne gantry rolls back on rails, leaving the Vega launcher on its pad, ready for launch.\n<\/p>\n \nPortuguese-born Edgar Martins<\/a> has collaborated closely with ESA to produce a comprehensive photographic survey of the Agency\u2019s various facilities around the globe, together with those of its international partners.\n<\/p>\n \nThe striking results are collected in his new book and exhibition, entitled The Rehearsal of Space and The Poetic Impossibility to Manage the Infinite<\/i><\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \nCharacteristically empty of people, Martins\u2019 long-exposure photos \u2013 taken with analogue wide film cameras \u2013 possess a stark, reverent style. They document the variety of specialised installations and equipment needed to prepare missions for space, or to recreate orbital conditions for testing down on Earth.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n