First ATV model to begin testing
Les Mureaux, 13 November 2001
EADS LAUNCH VEHICLES is prime contractor for the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), which will ferry supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) and periodically reboost it into orbit. The ATV is rapidly taking shape : on November 12, the "Spacecraft" service module was shipped from Astrium's facility in Bremen to the European Space Agency's ESTEC facility in the Netherlands. In early December it will be integrated with the mechanical and thermal model of the "Cargo Carrier", which was delivered to ESTEC in late July by Alenia Spazio of Turin.
The service module houses all vital systems, including propulsion, electrical power, computers and most of the avionics. A large part of this module is taken up by the propellant and pressurization tanks, along with the thrusters, fuel lines and propulsion control electronics.
The Cargo Carrier comprises a pressurized section which will enable the ISS crew to enter and offload supplies, load waste and transfer air, nitrogen and oxygen to the station. Furthermore, this module features a system that transfers propellants to the International Space Station.
These two modules will be assembled to create the first test model, called the structural and thermal model, or STM. It will remain at ESTEC for 11 months, and undergo acoustic, thermal and vibration testing. Construction of the first flight-standard ATV will start in mid-2002, with launch to the Spa Station scheduled for 2004.
The ATV, launched by Ariane 5, is designed to ferry supplies to the International Space Station and periodically reboost it into orbit. About eight ATV missions are slated through 2013. It is the first spacecraft developed in Europe that will perform a rendezvous and docking with a space station. The ATV is a programme of the European Space Agency.
EADS LAUNCH VEHICLES, the European leader in space transportation, designs and builds Ariane launchers, orbital infrastructures, the ATV, missiles for France's nuclear deterrent force and space equipment. It has some 3,000 employees in France.
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