The heaviest spacecraft ever launched by Europe is ready for lift off from the Kourou Spaceport in French Guiana. ESA’s second Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) will be launched toward the International Space Station (ISS) by an Ariane 5 rocket at 22:50 CET on Wednesday, 16 February.
The cargo ship will deliver essential supplies to the crew, and will reboost the Station. Its mission will last three and half months. After an 8-day flight, the ATV will catch up with the huge Station and complete an automatic docking on 23 February.
ATV-2 is named after the famous German astronomer, Johannes Kepler, who lived during the 17th century. It is the first operational ATV, following the very successful Jules Verne qualification flight in 2008. It has a total launch mass of over 20 tonnes, and it is loaded with 7 tonnes of cargo. This cargo includes 4.5 tonnes of propellant that will make it possible for the ATV to control the position of the ISS and to raise its orbit from time to time. The ATV’s payload also includes almost 1600 kg of dry cargo, 850 kg of propellant for Russia’s Zvezda module, and 100 kg of oxygen!
On this mission, no drinking water will be delivered because there is already plenty aboard the ISS. However, the water tanks will be filled with liquid waste from the Station before the ATV separates from the ISS in June. Waste bags and unwanted equipment will also be loaded by the crew. The ATV will then be deorbited over the southern Pacific Ocean and will burn up in the atmosphere.
You can follow the ATV-2 mission at http://blogs.esa.int/atv . The launch and docking will be covered live on the ESA website. Check it out!
