Tuesday, September 2, 2008

First ESA ATV to undock Friday

Jules Verne, the European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle and prototype of future ESA manned and unmanned vehicles, is scheduled to undock from the Russian section of the International Space Station, Friday, Sept. 5, at 2130 UT.

The "fully automated" departure routine comes days after the ATV lowered slightly the station's orbit to avoid space debris from a Russian satellite, the first such action in five years.

According to ESA, "in just a few days time, the historic Jules Verne mission will draw to an end. After the ATV Control Center commands the opening of the Automated Transfer Vehicle clamps, ESA's first resupply and reboost vehicle will perform a fully automated undocking with the International Space Station."

Since its arrival six months ago, ESA has disclosed a manned scenario of the ATV, and NASA Langley has shown animations of various adaptations of the ATV architecture being used to ferry NASA equipment to the proposed location of a semi-permanent manned station on the rim of Shackelton Crater, near the lunar South Pole.

Packed with waste, the ATV will be steered to burn up in the upper atmosphere, with any unvaporized portions ending up in the far South Pacific.

Read more HERE.

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