ESA astronaut André Kuipers seen yesterday evening inside ATV Edoardo Amaldi during hatch opening and initial ingress activities. Welcome aboard!
André wrote: First time floating inside ATV. Wearing mask and protective glasses in case the air is bad or there is anything floating around inside. All ok. Photo credit: ESA/NASA
Excellent, 2-min overview of roll-out, lift-off, rendezvous and docking. Great, quick video update and we love the ATV's flashing navigation lights at the 1:57 point. Enjoy! (If video won't start in window below, just refresh this page in your browser...)
ATV-3 docking Credit: ESA/NASA
ESA’s ATV Edoardo Amaldi has completed the first stage of its docking with the Russian Zvezda module of the International Space Station.
The docking occurred smoothly when ATV's docking probe was captured by Zvezda's docking cone at 00:31 CEST ( 22:31 GMT).
Follow ATV-3 docking tonight via webcast in the main ESA website or in the ESA Operations site. Follow live updates via Twitter below; also, remember to scroll down to see the regular updates we post here in the ATV blog.
ATV-1 during approach to ISS (Credit: ESA/NASA)
A big day for the ISS Expedition 30 crew today as they await the delivery of new supplies with the arrival of ATV Edoardo Amaldi. The docking of the third European Automated Transfer Vehicle is scheduled for 00:33 CEST (22:33 UT).
ESA astronaut André Kuipers and his Russian crewmate Oleg Kononenko will monitor the cargo spacecraft from inside the Russian Zvezda module as the ATV manoeuvres towards the aft end of the ISS.
A full docking timeline is available in the ATV blog.
ATV Edoardo Amaldi carries into orbit some 4395 kg of fluid cargo, including fuel, water and gas, and 2201 kg of dry cargo including food, equipment, experiment hardware and personal items for the crew.
Follow the ATV-3 docking live on the ESA Portal, coverage starts at 00:00 CEST (10:00 UT).
An Ariane 5 rocket carrying Europe's ATV cargo vehicle appears as a diagonal streak in this March 23 photo taken by astronaut by astronaut Don Pettit on board the ISS.
ATV 3 launch seen from ISS 23 March 2012 Credit: ESA/NASA/Don Pettit
Hatches closed on the ISS for close approach of space debris
An exciting morning for the ISS crew last Saturday as they had to shelter in their Soyuz spacecraft as a piece of space debris passed close-by. A few hours later, André posted an update in his blog:
"We heard on Friday that a piece of space debris would come close to the ISS and that too little data was available to perform evasive manoeuvres. The space debris turned out to be from an old Russian satellite. Its orbit was hard to predict but it would pass by us at a distance of approximately 10 kilometres. That means code red. We had to go to our safe house to wait and see if the debris would hit us..."
Read more in André's blog post: Refuge in Soyuz due to space debris
International Space Station
The International Space Station crew took shelter in their Soyuz spacecraft earlier this morning when a piece of space debris made a close approach to the International Space Station.
The space debris was tracked from Friday morning and was predicted to pass the ISS at an estimated distance of 23 km at around 07:38 CET on Saturday morning. The late notification of a possible debris conjunction meant it was no longer possible to perform an orbit boost to move the Station clear of the debris. In such situations, it is a standard precautionary procedure for the crew to shelter in their Soyuz spacecraft.
The six ISS Expedition 30 crewmembers were awake one hour earlier than scheduled and entered their two Russian Soyuz spacecraft, where they waited for the debris to pass. The crew exited the Soyuz spacecraft once the all-clear was given by flight controllers in NASA's mission control centre in Houston.
Read more about space debris on:
ESA's Space Situtational Awareness website
NASA's FAQ on orbital debris
Ariane performed flawlessly, ATV Amaldi is safely in orbit and we've got a mission. Next stop? The ISS!
To celebrate the upcoming docking, Love & Mersey, one of Europe's top Beatles tribute bands, have produced a rocking music video: Back at the ISS.
The song is a 'greeting to space' -- to ESA astronaut André Kuipers and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko; the two will work side-by-side on the ISS overseeing the critical docking of ATV-3. Appropriately, it's performed in English, Russian and Dutch -- three languages that André speaks.
Thanks to Jan, Marcel and the entire band for a fabulous video greeting to space -- and best wishes to André, Oleg and everyone on board for the arrival of ATV!!
(Turn on captions to view English lyrics)
Watch the world premiere of Back at the ISS right here in the ATV blog, or access the HD version in ESA's YouTube channel.
Want to hear more music that André listens to in space? Access his playlist here.
CREDITS:
Music: J. Hovers; performed by Love & Mersey
Lyrics: (English & Dutch) J. Hovers ‐ (Russian) A. van der Linden‐Krasnopeeva
Camera: M. van der Linden & J. Hovers
Video editing: M. & A. van der Linden
PERMISSION: Back at the ISS may be freely reused for non‐commercial purposes but may not be altered in any way. All usage must include the following credit/copyright citation: All music and lyrics Copyright (C) 2012 Love & Mersey. Original video credit ESA, used with permission.
ESA’s ATV Edoardo Amaldi lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, today at 04:34 GMT (05:34 CET, 01:34 local) and is now heading towards the International Space Station.
The spacecraft will make a series of manoeuvres to rendezvous with the ISS on 28 March at the projected time of 22:34 GMT (00:34 CEST) where it will dock under its own control with Russia’s Zvezda module. ISS Expedition 30 crewmembers André Kuipers and Oleg Kononenko will monitor the approach and docking of the ATV from a special console inside the Zvezda module.
The Automated Transfer Vehicle, the most complex spacecraft ever produced in Europe, is now en route to deliver essential supplies to the orbital outpost. It will also reboost the Space Station’s orbit while it is attached for about five months.
Watch the replay:
embedded by Embedded Video
Image gallery ATV-3 launch:
