Update from ESA’s Charlotte Beskow in Toulouse – Ed.

It is a sunny day in Toulouse. I am inside the ATV Control Centre doing some final tasks in advance of the upcoming mission. There is an air of expectancy and those of us that are here walk around with smiles on our faces. It is a good day to be at work.

I take the opportunity to collect some pictures from the my colleagues in Kourou, showing the rollout that took place yesterday.

Ariane 5 VA 213 roll-out with ATV Albert Einstein on board credit: ESA

Ariane 5 VA 213 roll-out with ATV Albert Einstein on board credit: ESA

When it was in the BAF (Batiment Assemblage Finale – the Final Assembly Building), ATV-4 was already on the launch table. Yesterday, the huge door rolled up, allowing the entire table, with ATV on top of the Ariane 5 launcher, to be transported on the rail track the short distance that separates the BAF from the launch pad.

Temperature and humidity conditions are maintained via the umbilical connections that pass via the fairing.

— Charlotte