ATV Albert Einstein, as all spacecraft, needs a specific launcher adapter to connect the spacecraft to its Ariane rocket. We received some great pictures of Ariane's 'crowning' in Kourou and the whole process of integrating the (black) launcher adapter and ATV itself. Precision work with a 12-tonne spacecraft! A story in images:
ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique Video du CSG
ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique Video du CSG
Well, perhaps the title's a bit melodramatic... but these are 'ghostly' images as ATV-3 is now longer in existence! These are a selection of images taken by the ISS crew during hatch closure last week, when the placement and location of stowed waste and trash was documented prior to departure (this infro needed to verify centre-of-gravity calculations).
They are some of the last ever photos of the inside of ATV Edoardo Amaldi.
ATV-3 close-out photos Credit: NASA
ATV-3 close-out photos Credit: NASA
ATV-3 close-out photos Credit: NASA
ATV-3 close-out photos Credit: NASA
ATV-3 close-out photos Credit: NASA
ATV-3 close-out photos Credit: NASA
Thanks to Colleen Boggs, ESA's ATV Cargo Operations Engineer, for sharing!
Thanks to Ralf Vandebergh for another excellent image of ATV! Ralf has captured a number of in-flight images of ATV-3 so far and this time he's acquired Edoardo Amaldi attached to the ISS (click on the 'Continue reading' link below the image to read Ralf's comments).
ATV-3 seen attached to ISS from ground Credit/Copyright: R. Vandebergh
Some excellent images of ATV-3 imaged on Friday, 23 March 2012, shortly after lift-off by the team that operates the Tracking & Imaging Radar (TIRA) at the Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques (FHR), Wachtberg, Germany. Thanks for sharing these excellent -- and a little spooky -- views!
ATV-3 in orbit seen by the TIRA radar, Wachtberg, after launch on 23 March 2012 Credit/Copyright: FHR/Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques
ATV-3 in orbit seen by the TIRA radar, Wachtberg, after launch on 23 March 2012 Credit/Copyright: FHR/Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques
CNES image gallery on ATV - quite nice!
Yes, ATV Johannes Kepler is looking good - isn't it?
New artist's renderings were published today showing ATV-2 inside the nose cone (or under the fairing) of the Ariane 5 launcher and in space, ready for docking to the International Space Station.
The images were made by D. Ducros, ESA's 'chief space artist'.
ESA has updated also the multimedia gallery with some nice photos from Kourou: ATV @ ESA Multimedia gallery.
ATV-2 approaching ISS
