ESA’s Jean-Michel Bois – head of the ESA operations team at ATV-CC – talks us through the status of ATV Edoardo Amaldi as we enter the final six weeks before launch, now set for 9 March 2012. Jean-Michel spoke with us last Thursday, just as a demanding, two-day simulation exercise for the entire team at ATV-CC was ending.

Jean-Michel talks about the differences between ATV-3 and previous ATV missions, getting the team ready to go and the emotion of watching the cargo vessel docking with the Station.