Feature story
The Spaceport welcomes a record-setting payload with the arrival of Europe’s Automated Transfer Vehicle
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The ATV’s Integrated Cargo Carrier section arrives at the Spaceport after completing its trans-Atlantic voyage aboard the MN Toucan roll-on-roll-off transport ship. |
July 31, 2007
The Spaceport welcomes a record-setting payload with the arrival of Europe’s Automated Transfer Vehicle
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During its transfer, the protective container with ATV’s Integrated Cargo Carrier was cooled by air supplied from an environmental control unit. |
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The Spaceport in French Guiana is alive with excitement today as one of the largest unmanned spacecraft ever built begins its preparations for an Ariane 5 launch early next year.
This massive payload – the European Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) – marks a true milestone in the Ariane program and for Arianespace’s commercial launch services as well. With a liftoff mass of 19,400 kg., the ATV will be the heaviest payload orbited by Ariane, and it also represents Arianespace’s first mission in support of the International Space Station.
The ATV “Jules Verne” arrived in French Guiana this weekend aboard the MN Toucan roll-on-roll-off transport ship, completing a trans-Atlantic trip that began July 17 from Europe’s Rotterdam harbor. MN Toucan is one of two sea-going vessels utilized by Arianespace, and its cargo weighed approximately 460 metric tons – which included the ATV elements, its large load of propellant, and an extensive complement of ground support equipment.
Unloading of the MN Toucan at Pariacabo port began last night and continued today as a caravan of trucks brought the special-purpose shipping containers to the nearby launch site.
The ATV’s main elements – composed of the Integrated Cargo Carrier, Propulsion Module, four solar panels and a special flight adapter – have been moved into the S5C high bay area of the Spaceport’s massive S5 payload preparation facility. Most of the ATV support equipment will be set up inside the S5C building, while fueling support gear and ground handling hardware will be stored until the launch campaign moves into its next phase in the S5B integration hall.
The convoy with the ATV’s Integrated Cargo Carrier pulls up at the S5 payload preparation facility, where checkout and integration activity will be performed. |
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For Jean-Michel Desobeau, Arianespace’s ATV Program Manager, the Automated Transfer Vehicle’s arrival in French Guiana culminates eight years of preparations for this record-setting Ariane 5 passenger.
“It is fantastic to see the ATV at the Spaceport,” he said. “Its arrival means we’re entering the final straightway for a true milestone in spaceflight, which involves not only Europe but the other International Space Station partners as well, including the United States and Russia.”
The ATV will play a key role in the supply of the International Space Station, bringing food, air, water, propellant and experimental equipment to the manned facility in low Earth orbit. This giant spacecraft is 10.3 meters tall and 4.5 meters in diameter, and will fit under the Ariane 5’s large payload fairing. Currently, five ATV missions are planned in the coming years – all carried by Ariane 5s launched from the Spaceport.
While the ATV is to be orbited as a single passenger on a dedicated Ariane 5 ES launch vehicle, its preparation campaign will be similar – although longer in duration – to the more typical Arianespace flights, which carry two telecommunications satellites into geostationary transfer orbit.
“The ATV’s Propulsion Module and Integrated Cargo Carrier will be processed as separate elements prior to their integration, so it is basically is similar to the handling of two spacecraft,” Desobeau explained. “In addition, the ATV is fitted with four large solar panels – the equivalent of two solar panel sets for a typical dual-payload of telecom satellites on Ariane 5.”
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An artist’s concept depicts the ATV installed under the Ariane 5’s payload fairing. |
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Desobeau added that the Spaceport’s infrastructure is well suited to handle the ATV while also allowing Arianespace to build up its launch rate for other commercial missions.
“The S5 preparation facility was sized from the start for very large payloads, including the ATV,” he said. “The S5’s large processing capacity – combined with the other clean room facilities at the Spaceport – enables us to handle several launch campaign in parallel.”
Arianespace is accelerating its launch rate from the targeted six Ariane 5 missions in 2007 to a stabilized rate of eight flights annually by 2009.
For the ATV’s maiden flight early next year, the Jules Verne will transport 1,300 kg. of “dry cargo” in the pressurized module, along with some 280 liters of drinkable water and 20 kg. of breathable air for delivery to the International Space Station.
In addition, the spacecraft will carry a large amount of propellant, which is to be loaded during pre-launch operations in the Spaceport’s S5B hall. This includes nearly six metric tons of monomethylhydrazine (MMH) fuel and mixed oxides of nitrogen (MON) oxidizer for the ATV’s own propulsion system, plus 860 kg. of additional propellant for the Space Station’s propulsion unit that operates on unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) and nitrogen tetroxide (N2O4).
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