[BBC] European Space freighter primed for launch 2008.03.08

By Jonathan Amos
Science reporter, BBC News:

Europe is set to launch the biggest, most sophisticated spacecraft in its history.

The Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) is an unmanned ship that can carry up to 7.6 tonnes of supplies to the International Space Station (ISS).

Its other primary role is to push the orbiting outpost higher into the sky to keep it from falling back to Earth.

The ATV will launch on an Ariane 5 rocket from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana at 0403 GMT on Sunday.

Its mission will be a huge statement of capability.

The maiden voyage will announce that Europe now has some important new technical competencies to rival the very best in the space exploration business.

The most notable is the ATV's automatic rendezvous and docking technology - the ship can find its own way to the station and attach itself without any human intervention.

"The ATV is how we contribute to the operations costs of the space station - by taking up several tonnes of logistics," says Alan Thirkettle, the European Space Agency's (Esa) ISS programme manager.

"It's also very important as a development. ATV is a marriage of human spacecraft and satellites. It's a very complicated spacecraft; and European industry has had the opportunity to develop new technologies and new techniques as a result of ATV," he told BBC News.

The vehicle has been dubbed "Jules Verne" for Sunday's flight and will weigh some 20 tonnes at launch. Its booster, the Ariane 5, has had to be specially strengthened for the task.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• BBC
• News
• Science
• Space
• Launch
• ESA
• ISS
• Jules
• Verne
• ATV
• supply
• ship
• freighter
• craft
• Ariane
• Kourou

[spence111]

I'd rather give a little and move society forward then let the world stagnate while I'm being a selfish prick.

[swunt10]

the howl 30 years iss mission costs as much as a coffee for a single person from a esa member state.

in my opinion this is a good investment.

as humans we need to travel to other worlds like we did since the first monkey climbed down from a tree.

[stophateing]

you must be dumb. were do you think this money comes from

[swunt10]

you never payed money

[stophateing]

give me my money back

[yes4me]

Really cool 5/5

added to my playlist