Posted on March 17, 2010, at 12:53 pm .
Edoardo Amaldi
ESA MISSION UPDATE
Production of the Automated Transfer Vehicles is gearing up. After the flawless flight of the first ATV, Jules Verne, the second, Johannes Kepler, is being completed for launch later this year. Now the third ATV has been named after the Italian physicist and space pioneer Edoardo Amaldi.
Europe’s ATV space freighter proved its maturity in 2008, when Jules Verne completed a demonstration flight to the International Space Station (ISS), docked with 4.5 tonnes of food, water, fuel, supplies and equipment, served as a propulsion module for six months and finally undocked and entered Earth’s atmosphere over the southern Pacific. The ATV spacecraft are key to the Station’s logistics and operations. They are an excellent demonstration of Europe’s capability in creating space infrastructure for human spaceflight and exploration. The first ATV was named after the visionary French science-fiction writer Jules Verne, and the second honoured German mathematician and astronomer Johannes Kepler.
Continue reading ‘ESA to Name Third ATV After Italian Space Pioneer’
Posted on January 15, 2010, at 9:32 am .
ASTRIUM PRESS RELEASE
“Johannes Kepler”, the second unmanned European cargo spacecraft for the International Space Station (ISS), is currently undergoing its first flightworthiness and functionality tests as a fully integrated unit at the Astrium facility in Bremen. Preparations for the final system tests are running at full capacity.
Continue reading ‘Astrium Puts Second ATV Johannes Kepler Through Tests in Bremen’
Posted on December 11, 2009, at 4:00 pm .
ESA's ATV team wins the Royal Aeronautical Society Gold Medal in the 'team' category, London, 10 December 2009. Credits: Royal Aeronautical Society/T. Taylor
ESA PRESS RELEASE
The UK’s Royal Aeronautical Society has awarded its top Gold Medal Team prize to ESA’s Automated Transfer Vehicle operations team, in recognition of their achievement in operating ATV Jules Verne during its 2008 mission to the International Space Station.
The Gold Medal is conferred for work of outstanding achievement in aerospace.
Continue reading ‘ATV Operations Team Wins Prestigious Gold Medal Prize’
Posted on July 7, 2009, at 3:56 pm .
DLR PRESS RELEASE
In Bremen on Tuesday 7 July 2009, the second European space transporter, ATV-2 – developed in association with, and with the support of, the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) – was presented to the public. It was officially given the name of the German astronomer and scholar Johannes Kepler.
Continue reading ‘Astrium to Study Re-entry Upgrade for ATV’
Posted on March 14, 2009, at 11:14 am .
As the shuttle retirement looms large, Michael Belfiore takes a look at seven spacecraft that are either flying or under development for sending passengers and cargo into Earth orbit.
Continue reading ‘As Space Shuttle Goes, Other Vehicles to Debut’
Posted on January 26, 2009, at 10:43 am .
Rob Coppinger of Hyperbola blog has a couple of updates on Russian and European plans to develop new human spacecraft. It looks as if Russia will develop a replacement for the Soyuz on its own rather than cooperating with the Europeans. Meanwhile, ESA’s effort to develop its own vehicle is stalled for lack of money.
Continue reading ‘Russia to Proceed Solo With Soyuz Successor; ESA Human Spacecraft Going Nowhere’
Posted on September 30, 2008, at 12:22 am .
29 September 2008
Taken at approximately 15:36 CEST (13:36 UT) from the DC-8 aircraft.
ESA PRESS RELEASE
Europe’s first Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) Jules Verne successfully completed its six-month ISS logistics mission today with its controlled destructive re-entry over a completely uninhabited area of the South Pacific.
Continue reading ‘ESA’s Jules Verne ATV Re-enters Over the Pacific’
Posted on September 7, 2008, at 10:00 am .
ESA MISSION UPDATE
5 September 2009
At the end of a flawless six-month mission, Jules Verne, Europe’s first Automated Transfer Vehicle, undocked from the International Space Station today at 23:29 hours CEST. The ATV has now embarked on the last leg of its journey in space, which will end with a controlled destructive re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere on 29 September.
Continue reading ‘ESA ATV Undocks from ISS, Near Completion of First Mission’
Posted on July 22, 2008, at 11:48 pm .
Manned spaceship design unveiled
BBC News
“It is designed to replace the Soyuz vehicle currently in use by Russia and will allow Europe to participate directly in crew transportation. The reusable ship was conceived to carry four people towards the Moon, rivalling the US Ares/Orion system….
“‘If ESA and the Russian Space Agency reach agreement, Europe will supply the service module of that co-operative spacecraft,’ [Anatoly] Zak told BBC News.
“This service module will use technology – such as the propulsion systems – developed for Europe’s Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), an unmanned freighter recently sent to re-supply the International Space Station (ISS).”
ESA aims for manned capsule by 2020
Flight International
“A €300 million ($475 million) three-year Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) Advanced Return Vehicle (ARV) development project, to be proposed to the European Space Agency’s November ministerial meeting, could become a stepping stone to a human transport system in 2020.
“ESA wants to evolve its expendable 20,000kg (44,000lb) ATV, which docked with the International Space Station for the first time in April, into an EADS Astrium Ariane 5-launched ARV. That cargo vehicle would be the basis for the manned system operating around 2020. ESA will design ARV with a view to man-rating it in future. The cargo version will be about 5,000kg lighter than the Ariane 5’s low-Earth orbit capability to allow for the future addition of a launch abort tower.”
Posted on May 14, 2008, at 12:53 am .
EADS Astrium and the German Space Agency (DLR) have proposed modifying Europe’s Automated Transfer Vehicle to carry three astronauts into orbit, the BBC reports.
“The ATV, which ferried just under five tonnes of supplies to the orbiting platform in April, is packed with sophisticated navigation, rendezvous and docking technologies. It also has a pressurised section that is ‘human rated’ in the sense that, once docked to the 340km-high station, astronauts can move around inside it safely in just T-shirts.
“But the ATV was not built with the intention of transporting humans across space, and a fit-for-purpose capsule would have to be developed to take the place of the current cargo section.”
If the project is approved, EADS and DLR officials believe they could conduct test flight beginning in 2013, with human flights coming four or five years later. The project will likely be considered by European space ministers at a meeting in November.
Posted on April 17, 2008, at 10:51 pm .
NASA plans to rely upon commercial vehicles to supply the International Space Station after 2011 instead of purchasing additional Progress freighters from Russia, Aviation Week reported on Thursday.
“Administrator Michael Griffin has sent a letter to Capitol Hill specifically excluding Progress from a request to continue using Russian Soyuz capsules to deliver crew to the ISS after the shuttle retires in 2010,” AvWeek reports.
SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corporation are developing robotic supply spacecraft under NASA’s COTS program. These vehicles are set to fly sometime after 2010. Other ISS supply ships include the European Automated Transfer Vehicle, which flew its inaugural flight last month, and Japan’s H-II Transfer Vehicle, scheduled to fly next year.
Posted on April 5, 2008, at 11:16 pm .
ESA’s Jules Verne space freighter docked with the International Space Station on Thursday, delivering tons of cargo and supplies to the orbiting crew.
“The ATV is so much more than a simple delivery truck, it is an intelligent and versatile spaceship which has just demonstrated its extraordinary skills,” said Daniel Sacotte, ESA’s Director for Human Spaceflight, Microgravity and Exploration. “It is the largest and most complex spacecraft ever developed in Europe and the second in size of all the vehicle’s visiting the Station, after NASA’s space shuttle. With Columbus and the ATV, we have entered the major league of the ISS.”
The ESA website has more here.
Posted on April 2, 2008, at 11:47 am .
ESA PRESS RELEASE
2 April 2008
Jules Verne was today formally cleared to proceed with the first ISS docking attempt, scheduled for 3 April 2008 at 16:41 CEST (14:41 UT). The official go-ahead came from the International Space Station Mission Management Team (IMMT) after two flawless demonstration days in which Jules Verne proved its operational capabilities.
“We have proven that Jules Verne’s systems are safe, reliable and ready to dock to the Station. Everyone has worked very hard to get to this point, and we have also proven that the team on the ground is fully ready for tomorrow’s first attempt,” said John Ellwood, ESA’s ATV Project Manager.
Continue reading ‘Jules Verne ATV Cleared for Docking’
Posted on March 31, 2008, at 11:05 pm .
ESA PRESS RELEASE
31 March 2008
The Jules Verne ATV today approached the International Space Station to within 11 meters of the docking port on the Russian Zvezda module. The approach was part of a second ATV demonstration day which clears the way for the first rendezvous and docking attempt on 3 April.
“I’m known for my understatements, but the only word that comes to mind about today is impressive,” said John Ellwood, ESA’s ATV Project Manager. “It was impressive to see how Jules Verne, the staff at the ATV Control Centre, the control centres in Moscow and Houston pulled together today. It was a perfect dress-rehearsal for Thursday.”
Today’s maneuvers included the first demonstration of the critical optical navigation system, using the European-developed Videometer technology. It was confirmed that ATV can use this system to autonomously navigate to within 11 m of the ISS.
Continue reading ‘ATV Maneuvers Within 11 Meters of ISS’
Posted on March 30, 2008, at 9:16 pm .
ESA PRESS RELEASE
30 March 2008
International Space Station managers have today given the go-ahead for Jules Verne ATV to proceed with the second of two demonstration days in the lead up to a first ISS docking attempt later in the week. On Monday, Demonstration Day 2 will see ATV approach to within 11 meters of the ISS.
“Having tested very successfully on Saturday the first part of the rendezvous, in particular using the relative GPS between that on Jules Verne and on the Russian Service Module of the ISS, we now have the go-ahead to the test the second part of the rendezvous which uses the optical sensors.” said John Ellwood, ESA’s ATV Project Manager.”This will be very interesting, but we have a lot of confidence based on the great performance of Jules Verne during the first demonstration day.”
Continue reading ‘ATV Completes Initial Maneuvers Near Space Station; Docking on Track for April 3′
