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European space freighter launches European space freighter launches
(about 1 hour later)
Europe's ATV has lifted off from French Guiana on a mission to resupply the International Space Station (ISS). Europe's new orbital cargo ship has launched from French Guiana on a mission to resupply the space station.
The Automated Transfer Vehicle is the biggest and most complex spacecraft Europe has ever tried to put in orbit. The Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) is the biggest and most complex spacecraft Europe has ever tried to put in orbit.
The 20-tonne unmanned cargo ship left the Kourou spaceport at 0403 GMT, riding atop an Ariane 5 rocket. The 20-tonne unmanned freighter left the Kourou spaceport at 0403 GMT, riding atop an Ariane 5 rocket.
Mission controllers will confirm a successful launch only after the ATV has been ejected from the Ariane's upper-stage 66 minutes after lift-off. The ATV will deliver much-needed food, water, air, fuel, and equipment to the ISS and its astronauts when it docks in just over three weeks' time.
The ATV is carrying just under five tonnes of food, water, air, fuel and equipment to be passed over to the ISS during the course of a six-month attachment at the orbiting platform. The spectacular night-time launch in the South American jungle was cheered by a huge crowd of VIPs, space agency officials and representatives of the industrial teams that have worked on the development of the ship for past 11 years.
During that stay, the vehicle will also use its thrusters to push the station higher into the sky to keep it from falling back to Earth. 'JULES VERNE' STATISTICS Total cargo: 4,860kg1,340kg - 'dry' supplies20kg - air (oxygen/nitrogen)280kg - drinking water860kg - propellant for ISS2,360kg - reboost propellant The ship itself has 3,490kg of propellant for rendezvous, re-boost and de-orbit manoeuvres The ATV is of critical importance to the International Space Station (ISS) now that the Americans have decided to retire their shuttles in 2010.
PUTTING THE ATV ON THE RIGHT PATH TO THE ISS (1) The Ariane 5's first thrust phase lasts 17 minutes; the strap-on solid boosters and the main stage fall into the Atlantic Ocean(2) Upper-stage re-ignition occurs 1hour and 2 minutes into the flight, and circularises the 260km orbit. The ISS is about 340km highAt 1 hour and 6 minutes, the ATV is ejected; and a final burn (3) deorbits the upper-stage. The ATV must now raise its own orbit class="" href="/1/hi/sci/tech/7278409.stm">Kourou: European spaceport's sky-high ambition href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/player/nol/newsid_7250000/newsid_7259200?redirect=7259223.stm&news=1&bbwm=1&nbram=1&nbwm=1&bbram=1&asb=1" onClick="javascript:newsi.utils.av.launch({el:this});return false;">Fly with the ATV on a mission to the space station The ATV is the largest, completely automated rendezvous and docking ship to go to the ISS. When it attaches to the platform on 3 April, it will do so without any human assistance.
The ATV has been dubbed "Jules Verne" for its maiden flight and is carrying a first-edition hardback of the 19th-Century French author's book From the Earth to the Moon. The vessel will provide the largest refuelling and waste elimination capability for the ISS; and it is the only vehicle on the current timeline that will be able to de-orbit the $100bn platform when it is retired sometime towards the end of the next decade.
The mission also marks an important milestone for the Ariane 5 rocket - that of the heaviest single payload it has ever lifted off the ground. The launch was a significant event for Ariane, too. The European rocket had never before lifted so big a "passenger". Its normal payload is a pair of commercial telecommunications satellites that weigh together less than 10 tonnes.
The rocket is more used to lofting telecommunications satellites into equatorial orbits that go out to 35,000km above the Earth. For this flight, it is having to take a highly inclined trajectory out over the Atlantic to put the ATV on the correct low-altitude path to the ISS. The rocket had to be specially strengthened to carry the ATV aloft.
Ariane's upper stage has also been programmed to reignite twice - once to circularise the orbit at a 260-km altitude before ejecting the ship; and a further burn to take itself safely out of the sky and into the Pacific Ocean. Its upper-stage was also programmed to perform extra burns - the first to put the freighter in the correct 260km-high orbit, the second to take itself out of the sky and into the Pacific Ocean.
The ATV will essentially then be parked in space. It must wait until Space Shuttle Endeavour has completed its forthcoming mission to the ISS before moving in to make a docking, probably on 3 April. The ATV has been dubbed "Jules Verne" for its maiden flight and is even carrying a first-edition hardback of the 19th-Century French author's book From the Earth to the Moon. It will return on a space shuttle at a later date.
The ship's own computers will be in charge as an advanced form of GPS and, in the latter stages, optical sensors guide it into position on the end of the Russian Zvezda module. The ATV will now essentially be parked in space. It must wait until the US space shuttle Endeavour has completed its forthcoming mission to the ISS before moving in to make a docking.
Cost: Total bill was 1.3bn euros (at least 4 more ATVs will be built)Total cargo capacity: 7.6 tonnes, but first mission will fly lighterMass at launch: About 20 tonnes depending on cargo manifest Dimensions: 10.3m long and 4.5m wide - the size of a large busSolar panels: Once unfolded, the solar wings span 22.3mEngine power: 4x 490-Newton thrusters; and 28x 220N thrusters The ship's own computers will be in charge of the approach, employing an advanced form of GPS and, in the latter stages, optical sensors to guide itself into the correct position on the end of the Russian Zvezda module.
The ATV is the way Europe will pay for its membership of the ISS project. Four vehicles will follow this initial flight. But the European Space Agency hopes its new ship will be more than just a high-flying heavy goods lorry.
The sophisticated automated systems onboard are expected to be transferred into many more spacecraft - especially those that require automatic rendezvous and docking.
This would include any mission that went to Mars to try to retrieve rocks to bring back to Earth laboratories. The hardware that is used to lift the samples off the surface of the Red Planet would need to meet up in orbit with the propulsion unit which would carry it home. The technology for this in-orbit assembly might be derived from ATV know-how.
Cost: Total bill was 1.3bn euros (at least 4 more ATVs will be built)Total cargo capacity: 7.6 tonnes, but first mission is flying lighterMass at launch: About 20 tonnes depending on cargo manifest Dimensions: 10.3m long and 4.5m wide - the size of a large busSolar panels: Once unfolded, the solar wings span 22.3mEngine power: 4x 490-Newton thrusters; and 28x 220N thrusters
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.ukJonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk