Charlotte Beskow, deputy head of ESA’s ATV production programme and a keen contributor to the ATV blog, has just sent her final report. She’s at ATV-CC tonight sitting on console with the Engineering Support Team (EST). Thanks, Charlotte, for all the great updates during the Johannes Kepler mission.

ATV has completed its first deorbit boost, changing the orbit from a circular one to an elliptical one. In about two hours, we will do the second one. That boost will bring ATV down at high speed to a reentry point over the South Pacific.

After having looked at the results of the perfect execution of tonight’s first burn, the Engineering Support Team are taking a short break for a late dinner. The flight control team next door will keep their eyes on the vehicle!

— Charlotte