Fact sheet for the ATV Albert Einstein mission to the ISS. Lift off is planned for 5 June 2013.
ATV-4 will carry the most dry cargo ever launched in any European spacecraft (2501 kg) and the most diverse cargo mix of any ATV mission (1400 different items).
It will be the heaviest spacecraft ever lifted by any Ariane rocket (20 235 kg).
ATV-2 lift-off on board Ariane 5 ES v200 - view from ATV-CC
Charlotte Beskow continues to update us on the the progress of ATV. Earlier on Monday, she sent in a detailed review on happenings during the past few days, prior and after the launch. Read more of Charlotte's story below and after the jump.
Sunday, 20 February: the planners have their hands full!
D+4 and D-4
We live our lives as a function of 'D-x'. 'X' minutes before boost, 'Y' minutes before MSU activation, 'Z' minutes before health check, etc. With ATV in orbit, the teams in Toulouse are now working 24/7 monitoring the vehicle and uploading the necessary flight commands in order to get ATV to the correct point in space, in the correct condition, and at the correct time in order to start the rendezvous with the ISS on Thursday. Docking is scheduled at 15:45 (GMT) and each activity that leads to that event is calculated and entered into the mission plan as a function of that time. The planners have their hands full!
Feb 16 - launch day
The weather fates contributed suspense to last week's countdown! Right up to the last 40-50 minutes, I think most of us were mentally preparing for a repeat performance or the previous day's delay. As it turned out, this was not necessary. When Ariane put ATV into orbit right on time and 'spot on' with respect to the intended injection point, everybody drew visible signs of relief as the solar panels deployed correctly. Our colleagues in Toulouse kept us posted about the early operations via SMS messages that arrived at all times. This was very helpful!
ATV-2 on board Ariane 5
Today is 'Launch Monday' - noted as 'L-1' in the mission planning documentation - and there are a number of crucial activities that will be taking place at Kourou, French Guiana, and at ATV-CC in Toulouse. Tomorrow: the 200th flight will loft by far the heaviest payload ever launched by Ariane 5 - more than 20 tonnes - into a circular orbit at an altitude of 260 kilometres, inclined at 51.6 degrees.
Today, teams across Arianespace, ESA and CNES will be hard at work getting ready for the start of the countdown clock (due Tuesday, 15 February at 11:43 CET - 11hr30min prior to launch).
(1) At Europe's Spaceport in Kourou:
(2) And at ATV-CC Toulouse:
- Ed.)
ATV Johannes Kepler seen under the fairing of Ariane 5
Latest predicted launch time: 23:13:27 CET
ESA's Nico Dettmann sent in a note to say that the launch time of ATV Johannes Kepler has been changed by 5 minutes from 22:08 (UTC) to 22:13:27 (UTC) = 19:13:27 Kourou time = 23:13:27 CET.
The reason for the change is a very recent ISS reboost/altitude increase slightly affecting ATV-2 launch time.
He added that the final confirmation of this launch time is expected for tomorrow, however the change will only be in the seconds.
ESA TV have released another cool video on ATV! This new clip highlights the importance of Europe having its own cargo spacecraft and the role of ATV for the ISS in the perspective of ESA's Human Spaceflight programme. The video blurb states, in part:
Johannes Kepler is the [next] production unit of the automated transport vehicle-series following on from the highly successful 2008 first flight model Jules Verne. After the retirement of the US Space Shuttle, it will become the largest vehicle supplying the ISS. With ATV, Europe is serving as a key pillar in ISS logistics.
Frank De Winne
The presentation files (PPT) and an mp3 audio recording from yesterday's excellent media briefing at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne are now available.
Approximately 15 media from Germany and Belgium were present, and the Q&A session - with Mission Director Capelle, Head Engineer Leiseifer and astronauts De Winne and Gerst - was quite lively. Listen to the audio recording below and click on 'continue reading' to access the PPTs.
(You can also grab some nice photos via Flickr)
Another cool photo! ESA Astronaut Alexander Gerst was also at ESA’s European Astronaut Centre in Cologne today for the ATV media briefing; Gerst and De Winne were joined by ATV Mission Director Kris Capelle and Hans Peter Leiseifer, head of ATV systems engineering. Photo credit: Andreas Schepers
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!
ATV: Servicing the International Space Station
As the launch of Johannes Kepler is getting closer and the action has begun to heat up, you might like to chill down with a nice ATV brochure!
ATV: Servicing the International Space Station offers not only a stylish peek behind the mission, but is also a handy source of ATV reference information.
You can also read it online at ESA publications.
A very well-done video profile of the JK mission was just published by our colleagues at CNES, the French space agency. It includes a detailed interview with Martial Vanhove, the head of the CNES flight control team at ATV-CC. Audio in French + cool graphics!
