EPISODE · Feb 22, 2008 · 5 MIN
ATV Control Centre readies for Europe's first-ever automated docking
from ESApod, audio and video from space · host European Space Agency ESA
Equipped with its own propulsion and navigation system, the unmanned ATV "space truck" - dubbed 'Jules Verne' - has a sophisticated automatic navigation system. Even though the ATV is an automatic space vehicle, ground control experts from ESA and CNES, the French space agency, will be heavily involved in operations. They are prepared for any contingency, determining the route the spacecraft must take to dock with the ISS and working closely with the other two ISS control centres involved in ATV operations: the Mission Control Centre - Moscow (MCC-M) and the MCC-H, in Houston. At each of these control centres, European, American and Russian engineers coordinate their actions and carry out final manoeuvres with extreme precision.ESApod video programme
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What this episode covers
The launch of ESA's Jules Verne ATV, the first Automated Transfer Vehicle for the International Space Station, is planned for early March. The ATVs are the largest and most powerful spacecraft ever built in Europe. They will be controlled from Toulouse where CNES, the French space agency, operates a dedicated control centre on behalf of ESA.
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ATV Control Centre readies for Europe's first-ever automated docking
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