ESA completes ATV Testing

The European Space Agency has readied its Automatic Transfer Vehicle, the first christened Jules Verne, for a possible launch and ISS resupply mission later this year. Three years of testing has been conducted in Russia, France and Norway on major vehicle components and systems.

"Several mission scenarios will require complex interactions and shared responsibilities between the ATV Control Centre (ATV-CC) in Toulouse, France, and Russian and American Mission Control Centres in Moscow and Houston. For the first time in space history, three space control centres around the globe must work together. For these Joint Activities related to the ATV in orbit, specific high-level procedures, called Multi-Element Procedures, have been developed, allocating the tasks to be performed sequentially to the centres involved."

The ATV is expected to be transported to its launch site in French Guianna this summer, with an expected mision date in either September or November, the two available launch windows. A fleet of five vehicles is planned.