ESA's latest Automated Transfer Vehicle, named "Johannes Kepler" is ready for launch to the International Space Station on Tuesday, 15 February at 22:08 GMT from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, South America.
Johannes Kepler is the first operational ATV, following the highly successful Jules Verne qualification flight in 2008. With a total mass of over 20 tonnes, it is the heaviest payload ever launched by Europe. The unmanned spaceship will deliver essential supplies and reboost the Station during its mission lasting three and half months. On this first operational mission, ATV-2 is carrying over 7 tonnes of payload, including 4534 kg of propellant for the reboost and attitude control of the International Space Station (ISS).
ATV is a highly sophisticated spacecraft, combining an autonomous free-flying platform, a manoeuvrable space vehicle and – when docked – a space station module.
To achieve an automated docking under the very tight safety constraints imposed by human spaceflight rules, ATV carries high-precision navigation systems, highly redundant flight software and a fully autonomous collision-avoidance system with its own independent power supplies, control system and thrusters.
About 10 meters high with a diameter of 4.5 meters, ATV includes a 45-cubic m pressurised module and a Russian docking system, similar to those used on the Soyuz manned ferries and the Progress resupply ships. With its solar wings deployed, ATV spans 22 m. Almost three times larger than Russia’s Progress, it can also deliver about three times the cargo load.
Once docked to the ISS, this propellant will be used by ATV’s own thrusters to raise the Station’s orbit periodically in order to compensate for the natural decay caused by atmospheric drag. It may also be used to move the ISS out of the way of potentially dangerous space debris that comes too close to the manned space complex.
ATV’s payload includes almost 1600 kg of dry cargo, 850 kg of propellant for Russia’s Zvezda module and 100 kg of oxygen.
Source: ESA
