ESA: Jules Verne ATV declared ready for launch
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[W]ith the participation of around 60 people from ESA, Arianespace, CNES, Astrium, RSC-Energia and NASA, the European space supply vessel for the International Space Station, was declared ready for launch on 9 March at 05:03 CET (04:03 UTC).
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ESA: A dedicated Ariane 5 to launch Jules Verne
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Since it is the first time the European heavy launcher will aim at such a low Earth orbit (LEO) trajectory and since it will launch its heaviest payload ever, the Ariane 5 ES-ATV has needed some hardware adaptation and some specific tests and studies.
The more than 20-tonne ATV mass represents more than twice the heaviest single payload Ariane 5 has ever lifted in the past [...]
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Launch target:
March 8, 2003 PST, Saturday
March 8, 2303 EST, Saturday
March 9, 0403 UTC, Sunday
March 9, 0503 CET, Sunday
3 days to launch