Author Archives: Daniel

About Daniel

Daniel Scuka is Senior Editor for Spacecraft Operations at ESOC, ESA's European Space Operations Centre, Darmstadt, Germany.

ATV in BAF; ATV team in intense training

Posted on 15 May 2013 by Daniel

Update sent in earlier today from ESA’s Charlotte Beskow, now in ATV-CC Toulouse – Ed. Early May in Europe is a time with many ‘holidays’. These vary from country to country, which makes for some tricky planning when you are working … Continue reading →

Posted in ATV-4, ATV-CC, ISS Partners, Kourou/CSG, Launch preparations, Mission diary | Tagged , | Leave a comment

ATV Albert Einstein is installed on its Ariane 5 launcher for Arianespace’s next heavy-lift mission

Posted on 15 May 2013 by Daniel

Arianespace marked one of the final steps in preparations for the next Ariane 5 launch as Europe’s latest Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) was integrated atop the heavy-lift workhorse at the Spaceport. This latest ATV – named after German-born physicist Albert … Continue reading →

Posted in Assembly, ATV-4, Kourou/CSG, Launch preparations, News and updates | Tagged | Leave a comment

Brilliant! Station Commander Chris Hadfield’s final day in orbit

Posted on 13 May 2013 by Daniel

This item not directly related to ATV, but we couldn’t help but share this brilliant video by Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield. Everyone here at the ATV blog wishes Chris a safe journey home! A revised version of David Bowie’s Space … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronauts, Fun stuff, ISS, ISS Partners, Life on ISS, Media, Video | Leave a comment

Into space with ATV – Back to Earth with Dragon

Posted on 10 May 2013 by Daniel

Students send ‘Message to Earth’ into space via ESA’s ATV and back home via the US Dragon capsule – scroll down for link to complete DVD in YT We have a great little story to share with you today on … Continue reading →

Posted in Ariane 5, ATV-3, Cargo, Dragon, Education, Fun stuff, ISS Partners, Kourou/CSG, News and updates, Science | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Mission quiz: Answer 3 – Which crew members will oversee ATV-4 docking?

Posted on 10 May 2013 by Daniel

Here’s the correct answer to the 3rd question in our Mission Quiz (“Name the two crew members who will oversee ATV-4 docking from inside the ISS”) courtesy of ESA’s Lionel Ferra at EAC/Cologne. Lionel is a regular source for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronauts, ATV-4, Docking/undocking, EAC, Fun stuff, ISS Partners, Technology & engineering | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

For ATV-4: Things are progressing well

Posted on 9 May 2013 by Daniel

ATV 4 launch 5 June 2013: L – 1 month ATV transfer to BAF: 6 May (postponed to Tuesday, 7 May) Note: The latest update from Charlotte Beskow’s mission diary from ESTEC and Kourou – Ed. 11-12 April – Thursday-Friday … Continue reading →

Posted in ATV-4, Cargo, ISS Partners, Kourou/CSG, Launch preparations, Mission diary, News and updates, Technology & engineering | Leave a comment

Complete: ATV-4 gas & propellant loading

Posted on 6 May 2013 by Daniel

Just in this morning from Charlotte, who was updated last week by Mark Kelly, the Astrium Test Director, on ATV-4 filling operations. After: 14 Procedures 18 Meetings 22 Transports 31 Hazardous Operations 249 hours in SCAPE 2160 litres of Liquid … Continue reading →

Posted in ATV-4, Cargo, Kourou/CSG, Launch preparations, News and updates, Technology & engineering | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Could we use ATV to build and supply a real Death Star?

Posted on 1 May 2013 by Daniel

By Rhett Allain (Today’s post is in honour of International Star Wars Day: May the 4th be with you!) Recently, the US government declined an online petition to build an actual Death Star. (The answer is brilliant and well worth … Continue reading →

Posted in ATV-4, Cargo, Education, Flight dynamics, Fun stuff, Kourou/CSG, Operations, Science, Technology & engineering | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Europe’s ATV-4 prepares for launch amid contributions to future exploration

Posted on 29 Apr 2013 by Daniel

Editor’s note: There’s a great update today over at NASASpaceflight.com on our favourite cargo vessel, Albert Einstein. Pete Harding’s done a great job reviewing the current state of launch preparations, and his article includes some insider gen from the ATV team … Continue reading →

Posted in ATV-4, Docking/undocking, ISS, ISS Partners, Kourou/CSG, Launch, Launch preparations, Media, News and updates, Other sites, Technology & engineering | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

LRR replacement complete

Posted on 19 Apr 2013 by Daniel

Russian mission control has just confirmed that the two cosmonauts have successfully replaced the Laser Radar Reflector (LRR – docking target) located at the aft end of the Russian Service Module. ATV-4 will use this during the Rendezvous phase of its … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronauts, ATV-4, Docking/undocking, Images, ISS Partners, Media, News and updates, Operations, Technology & engineering | Tagged , | 1 Comment