The end of an era. Yesterday the fifth and final ATV departed from the ISS and disintegrated upon re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere at 18:11 UTC, marking the end of the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) programme.
With its 7 tonnes of supplies delivered the ISS, and 2.4 tonnes of waste reloaded, the vehicle moved away from the Station and thrusted retrograde to reduce its orbit. Before long it was falling sharply towards the Earth in a fiery ball. ESA hoped to receive imagery of the re-entry via an infrared camera onboard the vehicle. Although the camera wouldn't have survived the flight, it is hoped data was sent back in time so that imagery of its final few moments can be seen.
With its 7 tonnes of supplies delivered the ISS, and 2.4 tonnes of waste reloaded, the vehicle moved away from the Station and thrusted retrograde to reduce its orbit. Before long it was falling sharply towards the Earth in a fiery ball. ESA hoped to receive imagery of the re-entry via an infrared camera onboard the vehicle. Although the camera wouldn't have survived the flight, it is hoped data was sent back in time so that imagery of its final few moments can be seen.
Debuting in 2008, the ATV fleet is made up of five vehicles. The first, named the Jules Verne ATV after the famous 19th century French science-fiction author, delivered essential supplies to the ISS in April 2008. Since then, the ATV fleet of Johannes Kepler, Edoardo Amaldi, Albert Einstein and the recent Georges Lemaitre have all helped maintain the crew aboard the ISS. Over the course of five missions, the ATVs delivered more than 31,500 kg of supplies and boosted the ISS’ orbit a number of times as well.
So what now for the ATV? In January 2013, the ESA and NASA announced the combined Orion and ATV derived service module. Inspired by the ATV design, the module will provide water, oxygen and electricity to the crew of the Orion through the use of onboard supplies and solar panels. The first Orion mission to use the module is expected to be EM-1, scheduled for launch in 2018.