ESA's Jules Verne ATV refuels the ISS
19 Jun 2008
The European Space Agency's (ESA) Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) was used for the first time yesterday to transfer 811 kg of re-fuelling propellant to the International Space Station (ISS) even as the two spacecraft orbited Earth at 28 000 km/h.
According to ESA, it took less than half an hour to automatically transfer about 280 kg of the Russian UDMH (Unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine) propellant fuel and 530 kg of Nitrogen Tetroxide (N2O4), (which provides a source of oxygen so the fuel can ignite and burn in orbit) to the International Space Station's (ISS) own Russian-built propulsion tanks.
Because of the toxic and explosive characteristics of the hydrazine, the transfer was done through dedicated pipes located outside the pressurized structures of the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) and the Station.
After completing the necessary verifications to ensure that there was no leakage in the ATV piping system, Moscow Control Centre initiated the automatic refelling procedure sequence.
"We are impressed by this new achievement of Jules Verne ATV, which went without a hitch. And we really have to congratulate the teams of RSC Energia, Astrium and Thales Alenia Space for their years of efforts to integrate the Russian refuelling system in the ATV from the hardware and software point of view" said Massimo Cislaghi, ESA's leader of the Engineering Support Team, which backed up Moscow Control Centre during the operation.
"We have now successfully performed all the nominal operations of Jules Verne, such as the ISS attitude control, the ISS reboost, the gas transfer of air, the water transfer, the dry cargo and now the refuelling. Only undocking and re-entry remain, which we hope to do in September," said Hervé Côme, ESA's ATV Mission Director at the ATV Control Centre in Toulouse, France.
Jules Verne ATV was launched from Kourou in French Guiana on 9 March 2008 and docked with the ISS on 3 April 2008.
"Today, Europe has gained a new space capability which represents a new step towards human spaceflights and advanced exploration programmes", said Jean-François Clervoy, ATV senior advisor and a member of ESA's Astronaut Corps. "ATV is the only western vehicle able to refuel another spacecraft in complement to the Russian Progress. The successful automation of this function frees significant crew time for other ISS operations."
