Rendez-Vous in Space : ATV Jules Verne reaches its destination

“This is the first time that a space vehicle has performed a totally automatic rendezvous,” declared a delighted François Auque, CEO of Astrium, from the ATV control centre in Toulouse. “Europe is now well and truly on board the ISS.”

Following the docking of Columbus with the ISS on 11 February, the launch of the ATV by a new version of Ariane 5 on 9 March, and now the docking of the ATV with the ISS, Astrium has just achieved three brilliant successes. Through the European Space Agency’s (ESA) programmes, Astrium is becoming a key industrial partner of the ISS.

This success reinforces Astrium’s unique position as the prime contractor for space systems in Europe. The ATV’s architecture is complex because of the safety requirements intrinsic to manned spaceflight. Furthermore, the architecture integrates unique equipment and technology which is being used for the very first time:

This success is also partly due to the flight software developed by Astrium. The flight application software (FAS) handles the vehicle management, and has more than a million lines of code. The Monitoring and Safing Unit (MSU) software, which takes control of the ATV in the event of a contingency, is the first Category A software – which means that a validation process has examined every one of its software branches – to be developed in Europe for a space programme. The software has not required any modifications since being validated almost two years ago, which shows the quality of the software engineering.

The flight of the Jules Verne ATV is therefore the first time that a relative GPS-based navigation system and orbital rendezvous optical sensors have ever been used in operation on an automated vehicle.

“This third success is only a stepping stone. The docking of the Jules Verne paves the way for future adaptations of the ATV. The ATV design allows us to envisage changes in its use such as the capability to bring experiments, equipment or people back to Earth,” stated François Auque, CEO of Astrium, from the ATV control centre in Toulouse. “It is absolutely essential that the development of such systems is one of the priorities of the next ESA ministerial conference, which will be held between now and the end of 2008.”

The ATV should now remain docked with the ISS for four months. The astronauts will transfer the cargo and the ATV will perform several manoeuvres to re-boost the station. At the end of its mission, the ATV will be loaded with waste. After undocking, the ATV will then deorbit and burn up in the upper layers of the atmosphere.

Astrium, a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS, is dedicated to providing civil and defence space systems and services. In 2007, Astrium had a turnover of €3.5 billion and more than 12,000 employees in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands. Its three main areas of activity are Astrium Space Transportation for launchers and orbital infrastructure, and Astrium Satellites for spacecraft and ground segment, and its wholly owned subsidiary Astrium Services for the development and delivery of satellite services.

EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2007, EADS generated revenues of €39.1 billion and employed a workforce of more than 116, 000.

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