Category Archives: LEOP

Start of operations for ATV-4

The start of operations are not only visible to everyone at ATV-CC, but are also audible. The control centre has welcomed teams from the international ISS partners!

ATV-CC is ready. Credits : CNES/S.Girard, 2013

ATV-CC is ready. Credits : CNES/S.Girard, 2013

The first operational simulations were held at the start of last week and included ESA, NASA, Roscosmos and the industrial teams. In the corridors, German, English, French and Russian were heard each day; of course, English is the formal working language. At the first briefing, teams from ESA and CNES laid out the initial mission plan for ATV-4. This is a detailed and precise roadmap that provides the exact chronological sequence for all activities at ATV-CC until 15 June – the planned docking day.

Via the CNES ATV blog

Editor's note: As of this AM, the Joint International Simulation resulted in ATV-CC being declared ready for launch.

Update from ATV-CC: ATV is on its (back) way to the ISS

[updated 26.03] ATV Edoardo Amaldi is performing extremely well!

As of mid-day yesterday, Saturday, the first two phasing manoeuvres (burns) had been completed, and, as of 19:09 CET, Amaldi was orbiting between 275 and 295km altitude. Additional phasing burns were conducted today; with each burn, ATV gets higher and closer to the ISS orbit. Average temperature inside the ATV cargo carrier? A comfy 21.5C. Overall status? Everything is nominal.

ATV-3 LEOP and approach to the ISS -- animation showing solar arrays unfolding and rotating, proximity (ATV-to-ISS) antenna boom deployment and GPS signal acquisition.

One minor issue was seen during the Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP) -- it was noted that the ATV's Proximity Link Antenna Boom (the Antenna Deployable Boom or ADB) had correctly deployed, but the final sensor confirmation that the boom was locked into place was not received.

The antenna is used for direct communication and data synchronisation between the ATV and Station during rendezvous (more details on the Proximity Link System here).

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Perfect liftoff: The coming days will definitely be busy

Diary from a space project 24 March, Saturday, L+1

This sent in from ESA's Charlotte Beskow, deputy ATV team head, from Toulouse, yesterday, the day after ATV-3 launch and covers Friday and Saturday - Ed.

  • D0 -- 23 March: Launch (in the very early hours of the morning!)
    Solar arrays deployment: done
  • D+5 --28 March: Docking to the ISS set for late evening 28 March
    (22:34 UTC, which is 00:34 CEST on 29 March) so this is ~D-4.5
ESA/CNES mission controllers on console in ATV-CC 22 March Credit: CNES

ESA/CNES mission controllers on console in ATV-CC 22 March Credit: CNES

Update from Toulouse and the ATV-CC

23 March -- Early Friday morning

My alarm rings at 03:45... actually, I have been wide awake since 03:00, and I started by immediately checking the voice recorder of CNES. All is green! Quick breakfast before the taxi arrives. Outside it is cold and foggy.

I get to the CNES establishment in Toulouse (CST - Centre spatial de Toulouse - Ed.) at the same time as the Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP) team shift. Everyone is exited! The final verification of GPS data and first mission plan were done from the expert's hotel lobby last night. All was OK. This morning it seems as if the weather will cooperate.

Engineering Support Team (EST) room at ATV-CC for ATV-3 launch Credit: ESA/C. Beskow

Engineering Support Team (EST) room at ATV-CC for ATV-3 launch Credit: ESA/C. Beskow

How do we know who is where?  Easy: we have a multi-coloured Excel spreadsheet posted at the exit of the room (see photo below)! Each technical/engineering function has a colour and each person has a line!

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Update from ATV mission control team

A few updates from ATV-CC this morning:

  • The LEOP - Launch and Early Operation Phase - is complete. All sequences were nominal ("Nominal" is engineer-speak for 'it went more or less as we thought it would').
  • As of Friday at 20:00 CET, the two first phasing manoeuvres had been successfully done. These are the first of a long series of burns that will match -- or put into 'phase' -- the orbit of ATV with that of the ISS
  • All ATV-CC systems: nominal

Coming up tomorrow, Sunday, 25 March: the first mid-course MC1 manoeuvres.

Report from ATV-CC: First telecommands sent to ATV-3

From ESA Mission Director Adam Williams at ATV-CC:

Nominal end of propulsion. First command sent successfully. Best regards, ESA-ATV - MD on console

Update from Toulouse: Only a few hours left now…

Diary from a space project – 21 March 2012, Wednesday (L-2!)

Latest pre-launch report from Charlotte Beskow with the Engineering Support Team (EST) in Toulouse -- Ed.

EST Room - Part 1: The other room (Part 2) is visible via camera

EST Room - Part 1: The other room (Part 2) is visible via camera

On my way to the office, I pass an advertisement which reads "Les choses improbable arrivent probablement," which translates roughly as "The improbable will probably happen;"  I hope it is not a bad omen... :-)

At ATV-CC, the atmosphere is 'like before a major exam in school'. The EST are arriving from Bremen, Les Mureaux and ESA/ESTEC (NL). Two experts can not be here due to last-minute personal circumstances and they will be missed. The planning is adjusted accordingly.

We take the opportunity to do a last-minute check of consoles, procedures, etc. In the excitement of packing, there is always the risk of forgetting something but we share what we have and with the electronic storage across various databases it is relatively easy to collect the latest version of documents still sitting on the hall table at home. It is hard when your main task is hundreds of kilometres away from home. Luckily, many of us have similar equipment allowing us to share power adapters and phone chargers.

Roll-out of ATV-3, Edoardo Amaldi, is taking place later today, about 14:00 CET.

At 11:00, we have a briefing with our ESA/CNES flight control team counterparts. Our roles are very different. The flight control team operate Our vessel within its qualified domain. They execute the nominal plan, nominal procedures and handle the first level, predefined reaction, in case of problems. They also interface via the voice loops with the Houston and Moscow Control Centres, which operate the International Space Station.

We, the Engineering Support Team (EST), are there to support them in case things do not go according to plan. It is our task to prepare for the unexpected.

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Clear skies may offer glimpse of ATV over Europe

Clear skies may offer a bonus to early-bird backyard sky gazers on Friday morning: the first view of ATV Amaldi in flight!

If skies are clear, then backyard astronomers in West-Central Europe who are awake on Friday morning at around 05:56 CET should look towards the West.

At that time, about 22 minutes after lift-off, we may be able to see ATV-3, still attached to the Ariane upper stage, rising in a line over Paris-Luxembourg-Rheinland-Pfalz (see map).

ATV-3 launch path over France Credit: Gerhard Holtkamp

ATV-3 launch path over France Credit: Gerhard Holtkamp

Gerhard Holtkamp, an avid amateur astronomer living in the Darmstadt, Germany, area has sent in a great description (click on 'continue reading' for full post).

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ATV-CC: mission control systems reset to ‘start’

ESA Mission Director Adam Williams has just sent in a note from ATV-CC. The ESA/CNES teams are now on console for the start of today's activities.

All ATV-3 mission control systems have been reset to 'start' -- for the operations guys, the ATV-3 mission cycle is now underway!

ESA/CNES mission controllers on console in ATV-CC 22 March Credit: CNES

ESA/CNES mission controllers on console in ATV-CC 22 March Credit: CNES

ATV-3 report in NASASpaceflight.com

Apollo, ATV and Progress side by side Credit: ESA

Apollo, ATV and Progress side by side Credit: ESA

There's a very nice, detailed overview on the entire ATV-3 mission by Chris Gebhardt over at NASASpaceflight.com today.

Chris has provided a wealth of technical detail on the vessel, the launch, the mission and the ground segment.

Book off at least 20 mins to read the whole report -- and channel your inner 'spacecraft operations engineer'.

With an impressive safety and success record, Arianespace’s Ariane 5 rocket, flying in the Ariane 5 ES configuration, will be the rocket used Friday morning to launch the ATV-3 to the International Space Station (ISS).

The voyage of ATV-3 will mark the 61st flight of the Ariane 5, a rocket that first entered service on 4 June 1996 and has since evolved into five specific variants with only two complete failures of the rocket in its 16-year lifetime.

Via NASASpaceflight.com

ESA/CNES teams ‘on console’ at ATV-CC today

The ESA/CNES operations team at ATV-CC, Toulouse, will be 'on-console' today for pre-launch activities starting at H0-16hr (12:34 GMT, 13:34CET).

One of the main jobs today will be uploading the initial flight data sets into ATV Amaldi's computers -- data sets that include the initial mission plan for the launch and early orbit phase (LEOP) and GPS navigation data. The team will also transfer over to Kourou ATV's final 'automatic sequence' plans -- these manage everything that happens on board starting with separation from the Ariane 5 upper stage about 64 minutes after lift-off.