Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV)

Credit:

ESA - D. Ducros

The German Space Operations Center in Oberpfaffenhofen supported with its ground infrastructure the planned ESA ATV-missions. The role of GSOC was to act as data node service provider for the European wide data network. Thus it supported the two main control centers for the ATV-missions in Toulouse and Moscow.

The ATV is equipped with a docking mechanism to dock to the Russian segment. The most important task of the unmanned vehicle was to transport necessary resources like drinking water, food or new science experiments to the ISS. Using its own thrusters the ATV was also used to realign the station in its orbit.

Launch Dates

 

Re-entrys

ATV-1 (Jules Verne) 

9. März 2008

29. Sept. 2008

ATV-2 (Johannes Kepler)

16. Feb. 2011

21. Juni 2011

ATV-3 (Edoardo Amaldi)

23. März 2012

3. Okt. 2012

ATV-4 (Albert Einstein)

5. Juni 2013

2. Nov. 2013

ATV-5 (Georges Lemaître)

29. Juli 2014

15. Feb. 2015

Masse:

20t

 

Abmessungen:

9,8 x 4,5m

 

Startort:

Kourou,
Französisch-Guyana 

 

Trägerrakete:

Ariane V

 

Links

Brochure: Automated Transfer Vehicle Mission Jules Verne (2008)

2.5 MB | PDF

The Automated Transfer Vehicle is an unmanned spacecraft designed to transport cargo to the ISS.