A super-cool documentary starring our very own ATV! This YouTube video from ESA’s Human Spaceflight team explains the complex physical laws that play a role in space missions in an entertaining and non-technical way. Nice way to pass some time waiting for the Soyuz launch…

The Erasmus Centre of the ESA Directorate of Human Spaceflight picked one of ESA’s success stories — the mission of Jules Verne, the first Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) that was docked to the International Space Station (ISS) for 6 months — to highlight the complex physical laws behind handy space applications and driving current and future human exploration undertakings. In the video, Ronald Top flies the viewer over the hurdles of orbital mechanics, propulsion and satellite navigation.

ATV is an ESA success story used as the ‘case study’ for most of the laws of physics presented. Launch pads in French Guyana, Jules Verne’s house, a clock museum, ESTEC, the Bremen Drop Tower are some of the milestones in this journey through history and physics highlighting the basic principles of space travel.