The Integrated Cargo Carrier (ICC) Pressurized Module, the cylinder section where astronauts will be able to work when the ATV is docked to the ISS, has arrived in its container at the EADS SPACE Transportation facility in Bremen on board the Beluga Airbus aircraft in Oktober 2003. The Jules Verne ICC Pressurized Module flight hardware was integrated in Turin (I) by Alenia Spazio.
Credit: ESA.
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Artist's impression of the Automated Transfer Vehicle approaching the International Space Station. In combination with ESA's new Ariane 5, the 20.5 t, 8.5 m-long Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) will enable Europe to transport cargo to the International Space Station.This new vehicle, scheduled for its initial test flight in September 2004, can carry 9 tonnes of scientific equipment, general supplies, water, oxygen and propellant. Up to 4 t can be propellant for ATV's own engines to reboost the Station at regular intervals as atmospheric drag reduces the orbit. Developed under Aerospatialess prime contractorship, an ATV will be launched on average every 15 months as a means of ESA contributing to the Station's operating costs. It can remain docked for up to 6 months, during which time it will be loaded with Station waste before being undocked and flown into Earth's atmosphere to burn up.
Credit: ESA-D.Ducros.
The 20,7 tonnes ATV is well protected at the top of Ariane 5 during the three minutes of high pressure aerodynamic ascent. In combination with ESA's new Ariane 5, 8.5 m-long Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) will enable Europe to transport cargo to the International Space Station.
Credit: ESA-D. Ducros.
Europe's vehicle for resupplying the International Space Station in combination with ESA's new Ariane 5, the 20.5 t, 8.5 m-long Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) will enable Europe to transport cargo to the International Space Station.
Artist's impression showing ATV docking with ISS.
Credit: ESA - D.Ducros.
The Automated Transfer Vehicle is an unmanned spacecraft that can transport freight to the ISS. It is approximately ten metres long and has a diameter of 4.5 metres. With its solar panels unfolded the ATV has a span of over 22 metres. The total mass of the Jules Verne when loaded and ready to launch is almost 20 tonnes. The net payload capacity of an ATV is at present approximately six tonnes. The composition of the freight varies from mission to mission. In addition to food and other supply goods the ATVs can also transport scientific equipment, replacement parts and experiments to the ISS.
Artist's impression of the Automated Transfer Vehicle approaching the International Space Station. In combination with ESA's new Ariane 5, the 20.5 t, 8.5 m-long Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) will enable Europe to transport cargo to the International Space Station. Developed under Aerospatialess prime contractorship, an ATV will be launched on average every 15 months as a means of ESA contributing to the Station's operating costs. It can remain docked for up to 6 months, during which time it will be loaded with Station waste before being undocked and flown into Earth's atmosphere to burn up. The ATV becomes an extension of the station. The 45 m³ pressurized module of the ATV delivers up to 7,2 tonnes of equipment, fuel, food, water and air for the crew.
The ATV uses up to 4.7 tonnes of propellant to raise the ISS altitude which naturally decreases with the residual atmospheric drag. In combination with ESA's new Ariane 5, 8.5 m-long Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) will enable Europe to transport cargo to the International Space Station. The 45 m³ pressurized module of the ATV delivers up to 7,2 tonnes of equipment, fuel, food, water and air for the crew.
Artist's impression of ATV docked with Russian Zvezda module.
After 6 months, the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), loaded with 6.5 tonnes of waste, separates from ISS and fully burns up during a guided and controlled reentry high over the Pacific. In combination with ESA's new Ariane 5, 8.5 m-long ATV will enable Europe to transport cargo to the International Space Station. The 45 m³ pressurized module of the ATV delivers up to 7.2 tonnes of equipment, fuel, food, water and air for the crew.
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