The Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) has been cleared to dock with the International Space Station, approximately three weeks after launch on an Ariane 5 booster from French Guiana.
The Ariane 5 ES-ATV launcher at the Guiana Space Centre, Europe’s Spaceport, 2 days before launch. Image: ESA – S. Corvaja.
This decision follows an intense period of manoeuvre rehearsals and systems testing. Full demonstration of the Collision Avoidance Manoeuvre, or CAM, was perhaps the most critical, proving that the spaceship is able to autonomous and reliably move away from the ISS in case something goes wrong.
Jules Verne positions itself with respect to the station using differential GPS navigation. When close to the ISS, at a distance of 249 m, its computers also rely on optical guidance (videometer and telegoniometer data) for approach and docking manoeuvres.
The ATV was developed under ESA contract by an EADS Space Transportation led consortium and is intended to supply the ISS with equipment and spare parts (for the experiments and the station itself) and food, air and water (for the crew) on a regular basis. It will carry around 8.3 tonnes of wet (propulsion and refuelling propellant, water and oxygen) and dry cargo when launched.
Docking on the Russian docking port is scheduled for tomorrow, April 3.
More on ESA’s ATV website.
Posted by Filipe 