The Automated Transfer Vehicle – Presentation, launch campaign and “Jules-Verne” mission
- Paper number
IAC-08.D2.3.1
- Author
Mr. John Ellwood, The Netherlands
- Year
2008
- Abstract
The Automated Transfer Vehicle – Presentation, launch campaign and “Jules-Verne” mission John ELLWOOD, European Space Agency Nicolas CHAMUSSY, EADS Astrium john.ellwood@esa.int, ESTEC, Keplerlaan 1, Noordwijk, The Netherlands The Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) is, with the Columbus laboratory module, one of the two major contributions of Europe as a partner of the International Space Station (ISS). The unmanned ATV is a logistics cargo vehicle for the ISS. Launched by Ariane 5 from French Guiana, it will resupply the international complex in experimental equipment and space parts as well as air, food, water and propellant. The vehicle has been developed by the EADS Astrium over ten years under contract from the European Space Agency. The contract includes a first flight model, named after French science fiction writer Jules Verne, and four additional models to fly till 2015, about once every one year and a half. Once docked to the Zvezda module, the ATV is an integral part of the ISS, and it can stay there for up to six months. It has a maximum launch mass of 20750 kg, with a dry mass of around 11 tons. The payload capacity of the ATV is 9.5 tons. It is about 10 m long and 4.5 meter in diameter, making it the largest spacecraft ever developed by Europe. The ATV is made of two main elements, from top to bottom, the Integrated Cargo Carrier (ICC), and the spacecraft (SC). The ICC is a 45 m³ pressurized cargo module which includes a Russian Docking System with the ISS and a hatch, so that the ISS crew can load and unload hardware. This ICC also includes the storage of ISS Fluid Cargo such as gas, water and fuel. The spacecraft includes the avionics bay of the vehicle and the propulsion bay where the ATV fuel tanks are located. This fuel can also be used for the reboost of the ISS. It also accommodates 4 solar wings (22.3 meters wing span), providing 4.8 kW of onboard electrical power. The launch campaign of the first ATV started with the arrival in July 2007 of the vehicle in French Guiana and included the final check outs, leak tests, integration of the “dry cargoes” coming from ESA and NASA, loading of water and propellants; it concluded with the integration on the Ariane 5 launcher, and the final operations. The first flight of the ATV takes place in March 2008. The sequence of events includes an in-orbit demonstration of the main flight phases leading to rendezvous and docking, and including the contingency cases such as the collision avoidance. This important demonstration sequence is followed by an operational mission to the International Space Station, concluding with the actual rendezvous with the ISS, transfer of cargo, joint operations and finally separation and destructive re-entry of the ATV.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
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