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The Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) ferries propellants, food, water and equipment to the ISS. Once docked, it uses its own engines to correct the station’s orbit, compensating for a regular loss of altitude due to drag and contributes to collision and debris avoidance. At the end of its mission it is filled with waste, de-docked and burns up as it heads back into the Earth's atmosphere.
The first ATV, dubbed ‘Jules Verne’, was launched by an Ariane 5 on 9 March 2008 and performed a perfect docking with the ISS on 3 April 2008. The ATV is thus the first spacecraft in the world to carry out an automatic rendezvous and docking with a space station. A total of five missions are planned for the period up to 2015. The second ATV, ‘Johannes Kepler’, was launched on 16 February 2011 and docked successfully on 24 February 2011. The third ATV, ‘Edoardo Amaldi’, was launched on 23 March 2012 and docked successfully on 29 March 2012.
The fourth ATV has been named ‘Albert Einstein’. The launch is planned for early 2013.
Under contract to the European Space Agency (ESA), Astrium is industrial prime contractor for the ATV.
ATV 2 Specifications
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Dimensions |
| Length: | 9,794 mm (probe retracted) |
| Largest diameter: | 4,480 mm |
| Solar arrays span: | 22,281 mm |
|
Mass Budget |
| Vehicle dry mass: |
10,470 kg |
| Vehicle consumables: | 2,613 kg |
| Total vehicle mass: | 13,083 kg |
| Total cargo upload capacity: | 7,500 kg |
| Mass at launch (max): | 20,750 kg |
| Waste download capacity: | 6,300 kg (420 km altitude, 51.6° inclination) |
|
Propulsion |
| Main propulsion system: | 4 x 490 N thrusters (Pressurized liquid bi-propellant system) |
| Attitude control system: | 28 x 220 N thrusters (Pressurized liquid bi-propellant system) |
| Propellant: | Monomethyl hydrazine fuel and Nitrogen tetroxide oxidizer |
| Pressurization: | Helium pressurant at 31 MPa |
|
Communications Infrastructure |
| To ground: | S-band via TDRS satellite |
| ATV to ISS: | S-band antenna via Proximity link |
| Navigation: | GPS |
|
Thermal/Environmental Control |
| Thermal Control: | Multi Layer Insulation material, active thermal control using Variable & Constant Conductive Heat Pipes and paints |
| ECLSS: | Fire detection, air circulation, air temperature monitoring |
|
Electrical Power |
| Ascent to ISS and de-orbit: | 4 Solar panel wings of 4 panels each and 40 Ah rechargeable batteries |
| Number of arrays: | 4 |
| Number of panels/array: | 4 |
| Generated power: | 3,800 W after 6 months in orbit |
| Required power: | < 400 W Dormant mode |
| supplied by ISS: | < 900 W Active mode |
|
Main Construction Material |
| Pressure shell: | Al - 2219 |
| Micrometeoroid and Debris Protection System: |
|
| Primary bumper: | Al-6061-T6 |
| Secondary bumper: | Nextel/Kevlar blankets |
| Internal structure (racks): | Al-6061-T6 |
| Thermal insulation: | Goldised Kapton Multi-layer Insulation blanket & aluminised beta cloth |
| Solar arrays: | Silicium Solar Cells on 4 Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic Sandwich panels |
|
Launcher Configuration |
| Payload: | 8 racks with 2 x 0.314 m3 and 2 x 0.414 m3 |
| envelope: | each 1.146 m3 in front of 4 of these 8 racks |
| Cargo mass: | Dry cargo: 1,500 - 5,500 kg Water: 0 - 840 kg Gas (Nitrogen, Oxygen, air, 2 gases/flight): 0 - 100 kg ISS Refueling propellant: 0 - 860 kg (306 kg of fuel, 554 kg of oxidizer) ISS re-boost and attitude control propellant: 0 - 4,700kg Total cargo upload capacity: 7,667 kg |
| Launch vehicle: | Ariane 5 (300 x 300 km, 51.6° transfer orbit) ATV-2 will be launched with its solar panels folded to the body of the spacecraft. Electrical power will be supplied by non rechargeable batteries. |
| Launch site: | Kourou, French Guiana |
| Launch date: | 15 February 2011 |
Download Brochure ATV: A cargo tug for the International Space Station ( PDF, 2.5 MB) |
