Europe's first automated "Jules Verne" cargo ship passed several crucial tests today above the Earth in
preparation for docking at the International Space Station (ISS) in less than a week.
The unmanned, double-decker bus-sized
spacecraft safely guided itself to a point just 2.2 miles (3.5 km) behind
the space station, closing a 21.8-mile (34.5-km) gap in the process. The ship
then successfully performed a test escape maneuver after receiving commands
from mission controllers on the ground.
"All
systems were completely nominal, which is very satisfying for this first day of
really testing the rendezvous capability of the spacecraft," said John Ellwood,
the European Space Agency's (ESA) project manager for the Jules Verne program.
The 21-ton
ship, also known as an automated
transport vehicle (ATV), is designed to ferry about three times the amount
of fuel, oxygen, water and other supplies into space than Russia's Progress cargo ship can.
The ESA
expects this Jules Verne — the first of up to seven ships planned — to dock at
the space station on April 3.
First
demo day
In addition
to sneaking up on the space station and showing off its escape maneuvers, the 21-ton
Jules Verne established a two-way data link with the ISS.
The stream
of GPS (global positioning satellite) information is expected help the ship navigate
to the space station with extreme accuracy as well as allow two-way communication,
should the ISS crew need to abort its docking maneuvers.
When Jules
Verne reached its closest holding position behind the Russian-built Zvezda
service module, the 1.3 billion euro ($1.9 billion) craft turned on its bright tracking
lights and rendezvous radar equipment.
The Russian-built
Kurs radar system, which has been used for decades on spacecraft, successfully delivered
distance and speed information to the space station's on-orbit crew.
Closing
in
During the
demonstration, which is one of two planned before Thursday's anticipated docking, astronauts
on board the space station said they could see Jules Verne drifting behind them.
Ground
controllers at the ship's Toulouse, France control center could also see the
spacecraft on video screens.
"For the
flight control team, the sight of the ATV thrusters firing was particularly
exciting and brought the whole thing to life," said Bob Chesson, head of the
ESA's human spaceflight operations. "It was fantastic to be reunited with Jules
Verne and to see it performing so perfectly, which is very promising for the
days to come."
Technicians are now analyzing the demonstration day data and will soon submit
their report to space station mission managers. If the assessment is normal,
Jules Verne will be slated for a second day of demonstrations on March 31,
which will bring the giant ship within 36 feet (11 m) of the space station.
"The first
analysis from the [team is] looking pretty good," said Alberto Novelli,
ESA's mission director at ATV control center. "We are going to spend some
hours now analysing them further. We are quite confident."
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