The European Space Agency’s (ESA) second automated transfer vehicle (ATV), Johannes Kepler, has been launched into its targeted low orbit by an Ariane 5 vehicle, which took off from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
The unmanned supply ship, ATV-2, is expected to deliver critical supplies and reboost the International Space Station (ISS) during its four-month mission.
ESA’s director for human spaceflight Simonetta Di Pippo said that ESA used a special access device for the first time to load last-minute cargo items
ATV-2 is being constantly monitored by the dedicated ESA/CNES ATV control centre (ATV-CC) in Toulouse, France, in coordination with the ISS control centres in Moscow and Houston.
During the coming week, ATV will adjust its orbit for rendezvous with the ISS for docking on 24 February and will dock directly and autonomously with Russia’s Zvezda module to deliver cargo, propellant and oxygen to the orbital outpost.
The ATVs are contributing to the support and maintenance of the ISS together with Russia’s Progress and Japan’s H-II transfer vehicle, the second of which is now docked to the European-built Node-2.
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