Fully Automated Cargo Vehicle Performs Flawlessly

It may not sound like much... but it's a major step towards the continued resupply of the International Space Station. NASA reports the first European Space Agency Automated Transfer Vehicle, the Jules Verne, docked to the aft port of the International Space Station's Zvezda Service Module at 1045 EDT Thursday morning.

The unpiloted cargo spacecraft carries more than 7,500 pounds of equipment, supplies, water, fuel and gases for the station -- over three times what Russia's Progress resupply ships can carry. It also carries hopes and aspirations of the European Space Agency, which expects the ATV and its advanced rendezvous system to play an important role in future space exploration.

The Jules Verne docked smoothly using its automated, laser guided rendezvous system. The fully-automated docking procedure was a new milestone for ESA and NASA, and represented some risks. Unlike the ultra-reliable Progress supply ships -- essentially hollowed-out Soyuz capsules -- the ATV is completely automated, with no manual control allowed in the event of an emergency, apart from an "Abort" button inside the ISS that signals the ATV to retreat from the station, and park itself in orbit.

That arrangement caused some concerns among ISS astronauts and partner nations, who expressed fears an out-of-control ATV could impact the station, a potentially catastrophic event. Fortunately, NASA says Thursday's docking was in many respects a repeat of the dry run on Monday, which brought the ATV to within 36 feet of the docking port.

The Jules Verne launched from Kourou, French Guiana, on an Ariane 5 rocket on March 9. Solar arrays deployed as planned after two engine firings more than an hour and a half after launch. That placed the ATV in a parking orbit about 1,200 miles from the station.

It was, at almost 22 tons, the largest payload ever launched by the Ariane 5. The Jules Verne is named after the acclaimed French science-fiction author. It is the first of perhaps seven such spacecraft to be built.

The Jules Verne initially was placed in an orbit a safe distance from the station, where a series of tests were performed. Among the last of the tests were two approaches to the station.

Those approaches ended in "escape" maneuvers, to verify the  collision avoidance system. It would be used if the ATV automated docking system should fail.

The spacecraft is scheduled to remain at the station until August, for unloading and to reboost the orbiting laboratory. Subsequently it will be filled with station garbage and discards. Then it will be deorbited for destruction on re-entry over the Pacific.

FMI: www.nasa.gov, www.esa.int