ESA: Jules Verne ATV launch approaching
Quote:
After the successful launch of ESA’s Columbus laboratory aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis on Thursday (7 February), it is now time to focus on the next imminent milestone for ESA: the launch of Jules Verne, the first Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) to be sent to the International Space Station.
The 20-tonne European resupply and space-tug module will be carried into orbit by a special version of the Ariane 5 launch vehicle. The launcher, operated by Arianespace, is now scheduled to lift off from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on 8 March at 01:23 local time, 05:23 CET.
From 2008 onward, ESA’s Automated Transfer Vehicle will be one of the space station’s supply spacecraft, delivering experiments, equipment and spare parts, as well as food, air and water for its permanent crew.
Constructed by EADS-Astrium, the ATV, which is the most powerful automatic spaceship ever built, will carry up to 9 tonnes of cargo to the station as it orbits 400 km above the Earth.
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(See topic:
Jules Verne in space.)
Links:
ESA: ATV - Jules Verne
ESA: About ATV
Wikipedia: Automated Transfer Vehicle
Launch target:
March 7, 2023 PST, Friday
March 7, 2323 EST, Friday
March 8, 0423 UTC, Saturday
March 8, 0523 CET, Saturday
Roughly 3-1/2 weeks to launch.