FROM JOHANNES KEPLER TO EDOARDO AMALDI – THE ATV MISSIONS ARE NOT REALLY A ROUTINE MATTER

Paper number

IAC-12,B6,1,3,x13787

Author

Mr. Massimo Cislaghi, ESA, The Netherlands

Coauthor

Ms. Kirsten MacDonell, European Space Agency (ESA), The Netherlands

Year

2012

Abstract

On 9 March 2012 the 3rd ATV Edoardo Amaldi will start its 10-day journey to the International Space Station (ISS), for its nearly 6-month logistics resupply mission.
 
After the success of the first two ATVs – Jules Verne in 2008 and Johannes Kepler in 2011 - one might believe that implementing the subsequent ATV missions until the fifth and last one in 2014 has become a routine matter. 

However, not only does preparing and operating such a complex vehicle require extreme care and attention to the utmost detail due to its interactions with a manned complex, but, additionally, every mission differs from the previous one due to, for instance:

- the need to incorporate the lessons learnt from the previous mission
- the possibility to introduce design and operational improvements
- the changes of cargo manifest
- the changes of the ISS configuration 
- the much shorter interval from the previous mission and until the next one
- the operations and AIV manpower turnover

This paper first explains how these factors have been taken into account during the ATV-3 Edoardo Amaldi mission preparation. Then, it presents a synthesis of the main achievements realized during the actual execution of its mission, including a comparison with the previous ones. Finally it concludes with a projection on the final steps of the ATV Programme.

Abstract document

IAC-12,B6,1,3,x13787.brief.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-12,B6,1,3,x13787.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.