Update from Charlotte: The loading of MMH (Monomethylhydrazine – ‘hydrazine rocket fuel’) on to ATV-3 finished in the early hours (Kourou time) this morning. The teams are now busy with the remaining two tasks in the fuelling procedure:

  1. Pressurisation of the system to flight conditions, and
  2. Cleanup & removal of the fluid ground support equipment from the filling hall (in Kourou’s S5B building)

Edoardo Amaldi now has 2049 kg of MMH in its tanks!

The next step is preparation of the MON-3 (a mixture of Nitrogen Tetroxide and about 3% Nitric Oxide) loading, and this will keep part of the teams busy over the weekend to ensure that all is set for the actual loading next week.

— Charlotte