Flight Director Patrice Benarroche, from CNES, spoke to our colleagues at the CNES blog de l’ATV a few days ago and they have kindly provided an English version of the interview (thanks Fabien!). Patrice provides an excellent overview of what goes on at ATV-CC.
CNES image gallery on ATV - quite nice!
Charlotte Beskow - DMS-A - without her headset - the Jupiter control room at Kourou
This report came in overnight from Charlotte Beskow in Kouruo,who sent her mail around 04:00 CET. The folks at Kourou had a very long day! - DGS
We have just finished the official dress rehearsal!
This means that Kourou's Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG) together with the ground stations, ATV-CC and ATV itself have simulated the countdown and the actual flight to ensure that all is ready for launch next week on Tuesday, 15 February.
ESA's Nico Dettmann: ATV Mission Manager signing a CoQ at the end of a very long day
This type of exercise is very demanding and requires a lot of preparation and coordination to ensure that communication run smoothly. If we look only at our interface with ATV-CC, there are four separate groups playing a role: the Mission Manager here in the Launcher Control Room at Kourou, technical people nearby in the room that hosts the Electrical Ground Support Equipment (our cable interface to ATV), the ATV-CC Control Centre team in Toulouse and the Engineering Support team, also in Toulouse.
Adam Williams on camera with Human spaceflight editor Jari Makinen
ESA's Adam Williams, now sitting on console in the Mission Director's chair at ATV-CC Toulouse, has sent in a detailed update on today's rehearsal activities (we had mailed them some questions a bit earlier). Thanks, Adam, for taking time to reply!
Who is sitting on console today?
At ATV-CC, from the ESA Operations Management Team (OMT), Jean-Christophe Ronnet, Jean-Michel Bois and myself are on-console at various times during the day (and night!).
The Vehicle Engineering Team were also on-console during the early part of the rehearsal, for the transfer of the first on-board mission plan (OMP), which is used by ATV when it separates from Ariane. Also supporting the entire rehearsal in ATV-CC are the Ground Control Team, and several other OMT specialists are involved.
What sort of information will you monitor?
We monitor data provided by the Electrical Ground Support Equipment (EGSE) at Kourou, which is connected to ATV-2 by cable. We also check communication links with the international partners (NASA and Roscosmos).
ATV-CC during a launch simulation in January 2011
What active role do you play in the Repetition (same as for real launch, I assume?)
We follow the same activities as will take place during the countdown for the real launch. In particular, this includes confirmation that ATV-CC is ready for launch. There are several such checks. The first is five and a half hours before launch, then four hours before launch, thirty minutes before launch, and finally at ten minutes before launch, three minutes before the start of the Ariane automated launch sequence.
Do you see live telemetry from ATV?
Yes, we can see live telemetry via the EGSE.
Anything special/critical about today's rehearsal?
It is important that the rehearsal runs smoothly, and that we get confirmation that all our systems are working properly. Most importantly, by the end of the rehearsal we will know that we are ready for the launch next week.
How does it feel to be less than a week from lift-off?
It is exciting to be this close to launch. Not surprisingly, this is coupled with some nervousness, as we approach probably the most critical phase of the mission - getting into orbit!
Jupiter Control Room at Kourou - next time, it's for real
It's a big day at Kourou - and, in fact, on several other continents! The 'Repetition Generale' - launch dress rehearsal - gets underway at 14:08 CET. It then runs in 'real-time' for 9hrs 30mins up to the actual planned launch time on 15 February (H0 = 23:08 CET) and finishes 3 hrs later, at the end of the Ariane 5 flight.
At various times during the rehearsal, numerous ESA teams will be directly involved, simulating their roles to follow for real in just six days:
In addition, many more ESA specialists involved with ATV across the Agency will be paying close attention to the rehearsal results. We'll provide updates later on as we receive news from these locations.
Martial Vanhove, CNES ATV Project Manager ©CNES/Girard, 2010
Nice update yesterday from Fabien in the French-language ATV Blog, who interviewed Martial Vanhove, the CNES ATV project manager working closely with the ESA Operations Management Team at ATV-CC. Our translation is below. - AL
What will happen at ATV-CC between now and the launch? What's happening with the teams?
MV: The first actual operations related to the ATV-CC began in recent days. We are now shifting into our mission configuration - we will continue training through tests and simulations, but these will include fewer injected faults so that we can start working as we will for actual launch and flight. Everyone is ready to go - the aim now is to enable the mission controllers to update confirm the final nominal mission procedures.
What are the next test to be held in the ATV-CC?
MV: We have [had] a JIS (Joint Integrated Simulation) on 2 February with our Russian and American partners. Then we proceed, a few days before launch, to simulations using the actual ATV vessel in Kourou.
Why was ATV docking, originally scheduled for 26 February, has been re-scheduled to 23 February, three days earlier?
MV: This decision is the result of a change in strategy. We will not be docking on a fixed date. Instead, we will proceed with docking eight days after launch. If the launch is delayed, so will the docking as we maintain this eight-day interval. With an ATV launch on 15 February, this strategy will allow the US Shuttle to reach the ISS on 26 February.
Due to the geographical position of Kourou, there is no launch 'window'. To ensure that the ATV can meet the ISS at the scheduled time eight days after launch, the launch must take place at the planned time. If the launch must be delayed, it would shift by a full day, 23 hours and 35 minutes later.
Our friends over at CNES have put out a nifty new poster of featuring ATV-2 - which we love! ESA, CNES and Arianespace are celebrating the 200th Ariane launch, which just happens to be for Johannes Kepler. We want to know what you think of the poster!
Poster of the 200th flight: ATV
Merci, CNES, nous l’aimons! Original via CNES blog (link above).
