atv johannes kepler information kit

→ INFORMATION KIT ATV Johannes Kepler

European Space Agency

human spaceflight

→ INFORMATION KIT ATV JOHANNES KEPLER

Second round for the European space freighter1. 3

The post-Shuttle era2. 4

What makes Johannes Kepler different?3. 4

Key data4. 5

A look at the spacecraft5. 6

Express delivery service 6. 8

A space vessel to the ISS 7. 9

A matter of propulsion 8. 10

More room for the ISS9. 11

Ground support 10. 12

Getting better thanks to Jules Verne11. 13

Encounter with the atmosphere12. 14

The future13. 15

Media assistance14. 16

Cover image: ATV-2 will dock to the

International Space Station using

laser guidance. ATV technical design. >



Europe’s most challenging spacecraft to date takes the stage to play a vital role in resupplying the Station. Named Johannes Kepler after the German astronomer and mathematician, ATV-2 serves as a cargo carrier, storage facility and as a ‘tug’ vehicle. For a hundred days, the engines of the European vessel can perform ISS attitude control, regular orbital reboosts and enable occasional manoeuvres to avoid collisions with space debris.

For the first time, an ESA astronaut will be onboard the International Space Station during an ATV mission. Paolo

Nespoli will welcome Johannes Kepler as the prime astronaut to monitor the docking, a role

that shouldn’t give him too much work: with its own flight control and propulsion

systems, Europe’s most complex spacecraft has a high level of

autonomy allowing it to navigate on its own and

controlling its automatic rendezvous capability.

SEcONd ROuNd FOR ThE EuROpEAN SpAcE FREIGhTER

Flying far above Earth, the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) has the characteristic look of a dragonfly with metallic wings. The European spacecraft starts its second voyage to the International Space Station (ISS) loaded with 7 tonnes of cargo, ready not only to supply the astronauts with food, oxygen and more experimental equipment, but also to help in adjusting the Space Station’s orbit.

Thanks to ATV-2, Europe is contributing in kind towards its share of the operational costs of the ISS and becomes a truly autonomous space power, capable of handling more missions and exploration programmes beyond low orbit.

The Automated Transfer Vehicle series is a pillar of ISS logistics and a new step for European space transportation.

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ATV allows flexibility in the mix of cargoes.

This particular vehicle, ATV Johannes Kepler, will carry more than 5000 kg

of propellant, 102 kg of oxygen and 1400 kg of dry cargo.

ATV Johannes Kepler’s front end, with docking probe and

Integrated Cargo Carrier section, being readied for flight

at Europe’s Spaceport at Kourou, French Guiana

human spaceflight

Information Kit ATV Johannes Kepler

For three decades, the US Space Shuttle has been an enabler for international human spaceflight missions. Now that it is about to retire, ATV will become the largest-capacity supply vehicle available for the ISS.

ATV is the only vehicle besides the Russian Progress providing refuelling, attitude control and reboost. All of this makes the arrival of the second ATV at the Station not only a highlight of Paolo Nespoli’s mission, but also of the year. By mid-2011, ATV’s engines will be used to raise the Station’s orbit in steps by a total of 40–50 km.

ThE pOST-ShuTTlE ERA

The concept of a space tug for moving astronauts and equipment to different Earth orbits has been envisaged for decades by different space agencies. So far, this role has been fulfilled by the American Space Shuttle and the Russian unmanned craft Progress-M.

Before the new US commercial resupply service vehicles have taken up their operational services, timely ATV launches are key for the logistic supply of the ISS and for the international partnership.

WhAT MAKES JOHANNES KEPLER dIFFERENT?

- It is the heaviest spacecraft ever launched by ESA

- It has the largest reboost capability, and can carry around 5 tonnes more than the Russian Progress-M, and about one and a half tonnes more than the Japanese HTV.

- It can provide water, three types of gas (oxygen, nitrogen or air), refuelling propellant, dry cargo and ISS attitude control and reboost during a single mission.

- It is a multifunctional spaceship, combining the fully automatic capabilities of an unmanned vehicle with human spacecraft safety requirements

ATV Progress Apollo

A Shuttle launch.

The US Space Shuttle will retire in 2011.

Comparison of the ATV,

Progress and Apollo spacecraft.



5

KEY dATA

Launching site Kourou, French Guiana

Launch date

Launch window 15-19 February

Launcher Ariane 5 ES ATV

Docking 23 February

Undocking 4 June 2011

Mission duration 109 days

* As of 24 January 2011.

(Central European time*)

1. Lift-off from Europe’s Spaceport at Kourou, French Guiana

2. Ascent

3. Separation of solid-propellant boosters

4. Fairing jettison

5. Ignition of Ariane 5 upper stage to achieve orbit

6. Phasing, a set of orbital manoeuvres designed to take ATV

from its injection point to a parking orbit, 2000 km ahead

of the ISS

7. Rendezvous and docking

8. Attached phase

9. Separation and reentry

10. Burns up in atmosphere

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.10.

ATV-2

Largest diameter 4.5 m

Length (probe retracted) 9.8 m

Vehicle mass (with fluids loaded) 20.010 kg

Deployed solar array 22.3 m

Ariane 5

Height Up to 53 m

Diameter Up to 5.4 m

Liftoff mass 760 tonnes

Payload mass Up to 20.05 tonnes

(Central European Time)*

15 February 2011, 22:06 GMT (23:06 CET)

How ATV is housed under

the Ariane 5 fairing.

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A lOOK AT ThE SpAcEcRAFT

It consists of two sections: • - Propulsion Module. It has 4 main engines and 20 smaller

thrusters for attitude control. - Integrated Cargo Carrier, which attaches directly to the

ISS and can hold up to eight standard payload racks.

Four solar wings provide electrical power to •rechargeable batteries for eclipse periods. ATV can fully operate with the 4800 W generated by its solar wings, equivalent to the electricity used by a typical water heater at home.


European Space Agency7

The ‘nose’ contains the rendezvous sensors and Russian docking equipment. It also has eight thrusters to complement the propulsion system.

human spaceflight


ATV is designed to allow flexibility in the fluid and dry cargo mix and this particular vehicle will carry more than seven tonnes of propellant, oxygen and dry goods.

The GeoFlow II experiment container is also being delivered by Johannes Kepler. This experiment will observe for the first time liquid movements in microgravity as accurately as possible, and compare them with computer simulations in order to garner clues about Earth’s mantle convection.

All the cargo, including food, spare parts, tools, clothing, hygiene articles, computers and other items, is packed into special bags with barcodes that make it easy for crew to unload and also facilitates the planners on the ground to keep track of the various items on the ISS.

Several upgrades, such as lighter cargo racks with more volume, permit Johannes Kepler provide better uplift capacity than Jules Verne, the first ATV launched

ExpRESS dElIVERY SERVIcE

The International Space Station has been permanently inhabited since 2000 and it relies on logistic vehicles like ATV to upload all kinds of cargo, as well as propellants to maintain the orbit.

in 2008 with 4.5 tonnes of cargo to the Station. The ATV average cargo mass will be even higher from now on.

For the first time, ESA will use a special access device to load last-minute cargo items. For Johannes Kepler, 28 bags with a combined weight of around 430 kg will be loaded via the ISS hatch with ATV in the vertical position on top of its Ariane 5 launcher. This late access gives NASA greater flexibility in adapting the cargo to reflect ISS needs and confirms ATV’s role as a critical resupply vehicle for the Space Station.

Fluid Cargo Loading 5486

ISS Propulsive Support 4535

Gas (Oxygen) 100

Refuel Propellant 851

Dry Cargo Loading 1170

Late Load Cargo 429

TOTAL CARGO 7085 kg

For the first time, a cargo access device for last-minute items

will be used (cutaway view).

ATV Johannes Kepler

gears up for space

journey at Europe’s

Spaceport in Kourou.



Johannes Kepler separates from the rocket 70 minutes after lift-off into a 260 km circular orbit at the same inclination as the International Space Station. Whereas the first ATV in 2008 performed a series of demonstrations on its way to the ISS, ATV-2 will head directly to its destination.

ATV will navigate, fly and dock to the Station automatically, but it will be monitored and commanded from the ATV Control Centre (ATV-CC) in Toulouse, France.

Sailing on its ownAfter launch, a high-precision navigation system guides Johannes Kepler on a rendezvous trajectory towards the Space Station. While a startracker identifies different constellations in the sky to calculate the spacecraft’s orientation in space, a GPS receiver gives positional information as the ATV navigates towards the Station from a distance of 30 km to 250 m. Together, they are the modern equivalent of centuries-old navigation techniques.

ATV-2 will need almost eight days to get to a hold point some 30 km behind the ISS. Johannes Kepler can pick up GPS data sent by the Station and use them, together with the data from its own GPS receivers, to compute a trajectory with respect to the ISS.

From this point ATV will perform guidance, navigation and control, piloting itself to the ISS according to the predefined plan, gradually closing with the Station whilst both vehicles orbit Earth at around 28 000 km/hr.

A SpAcE VESSEl TO ThE ISS

When ATV-2 departs from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, it will be the heaviest load ever lofted into space by the Ariane 5 rocket, making the 200th flight of this European launcher even more spectacular. The launch window will be open for four days to meet the busy ISS schedule.

During the last 250 m, the ATV’s state-of-the-art auto-matic rendezvous system employs a videometer’s eye-like sensors which analyse images of a laser beam. Despite its mass of about 20 tonnes, the ferry can manoeuvre itself to within a few centimetres. After calculating the distance and direction to the docking port on the Russian Zvezda module, ATV-2 docks with the International Space Station with a precision of around 8 cm. In total, the rendezvous lasts roughly three and a half hours.

Docking is fully automatic. If there are any last-minute problems, either ATV’s computers, ATV-CC or the Space Station crew can stop the approach and send the vehicle away in a safe manner. In the worst-case scenario, it is possible to trigger a programmed sequence of anti-collision manoeuvres, fully independent of the main navigation system.

ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli will stand by ready to interrupt the approach if necessary. The ISS has no window facing the ATV approach path, but he can observe it via a camera mounted on the aft end of Zvezda.

Once the hooks are closed and ATV’s docking probe is retracted, it is the turn of the electrical and fluid connections. And as soon as all interfaces are established, the crew can open the hatch and enter the pressurised part of the ATV.

9

Location on the ISS.

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Of all the vessels that deliver cargo to the ISS, ATV can send the largest quantity of fuel. ATV Johannes Kepler is indeed focused on delivering propellant: its main payload is more than 5 tonnes of fuel in different forms to restock the Station’s reserves.

Johannes Kepler carries four types of propellant for different purposes.

The ATV propulsion system will use more than •4 tonnes to fulfil three functions:

1. Attitude control. This capability saves critical attitude control propellant for the the ISS. The Station’s orbit suffers a natural decay of 50– 100 m each day.

A MATTER OF pROpulSION

The scale of ATV, together with the complexity of manoeuvres, results in a propulsion subsystem that is one of the largest and most sophisticated ever built.

2. Raising the Station’s orbit by about 40 km in order to reduce the remaining atmospheric drag the ISS is exposed to.

3. If necessary, ATV will also perform ISS debris avoidance manoeuvres.

Delivery of Russian refuelling propellants (860 kg) •which will be transferred after docking into the tanks of the Zarya module. This allows the Station to perform its own attitude control and reboost when there is no visiting vehicle.

ATV Johannes Kepler will be used to raise the altitude of the ISS.



Once ATV-2 is securely attached to the orbital complex, astronauts dressed in their normal clothing can enter the cargo section and begin removing the payload items. Among them, the astronauts will find maintenance supplies, science hardware, parcels of food and family mail.

Inside, Johannes Kepler is configured to carry storage tanks for refuelling propellant for the Station’s own propulsion system, and oxygen for the ISS. Russian controllers can pilot the ATV thrusters in a seamless manner. The refuelling system is connected to the Space Station’s own propellant system to replenish the Russian tanks.

MORE ROOM FOR ThE ISS

The European spacecraft is not only a supply ferry. Each ATV is a vital means for ISS housekeeping, scientific research and astronaut well-being. When the maiden flight took place in 2008 with Jules Verne, crewmembers were impressed by the space and the relative quiet compared to the rest of the ISS.

The gas system is very simple. Manual valves on the gas control panel allow astronauts to release the desired quantity of oxygen directly into the Station’s atmosphere.

Johannes Kepler is also equipped with three water tanks, with a total capacity of 840 kg. Currently there is enough water on the Station, so ATV-2 will not carry any water up. However, the tanks can be used to store ‘technical water’ (for instance, supplementary feed, circulation or cooling water) during the attached phase and it is also possible to load the tanks with liquid waste before departure.

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Expedition 16 and 17 crewmembers inside Jules Verne, the first Automated Transfer Vehicle. From left to right, Garrett Reisman, Peggy Whitson,

Yuri Malenchenko, Sergei Volkov and Oleg Kononenko.

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This centre, located in the facilities of the French space agency, CNES, works closely with the Guiana Space Centre, in charge of launch and deployment of the ATV. For rendezvous, docking and departure, ATV-CC is in constant communication with the mission control centres in Moscow and Houston.

During the highly active phases of an ATV flight – from launch to docking, and from departure to reentry – a dedicated 60-person team works together to control all procedures. Among their critical tasks, they are responsible for the orbital approach and automatic rendezvous with the ISS.

During the attached phase, fewer operators are needed, but the control centre is manned 24 hours a day and support is provided during all attached operations. The ATV project involves dozens of companies and thousands of technicians and engineers across Europe, and represents a highly skilled workforce that is a great asset to the European aerospace industry.

GROuNd SuppORT

The challenge of operating ATV is not just technical. The ATV Control Centre (ATV-CC) in Toulouse, France, has been busy preparing and simulating the operational scenarios over the last several months.

Johannes Kepler was developed and is built under ESA contract by a European industrial consortium led by EADS Astrium. The project includes the cooperation of Russian companies, which have built the docking mechanism, the refuelling system and the associated electronics. A number of US companies are also involved.

Turin, Integrated Cargo Carrier, Thales Alenia Space Italy

Kourou, Launch site

Toulouse, ATV Control Centre

Korolev, Russian Mission Control Centre

Houston, NASA Mission Control Center

Bremen, Equipped Propulsion Bay, EADS Astrium

The ATV Control Centre (ATV-CC) at the CNES premises in Toulouse.



Following that first mission, the post-flight analysis came up with 130 technical recommendations and about 30 of them were taken up and incorporated into the design of Johannes Kepler.

Included in these changes was the redesign of the internal rack stowage, now adapted to allow mostly ‘soft’ bags to be installed and not only hard-mounted items. The pressure regulator and the insulation of the whole ATV surface were also redesigned, while the flight application software was improved to allow easier operations from the ATV Control Centre.

A number of other modifications were also made in order to simplify the operations of the vehicle. Lessons learned led to several upgrades and design changes that permit ATV-2 to ferry a full load of propellant – around 5 tonnes – to the ISS. Thanks to that first ATV review, Johannes Kepler is the most complex space vehicle ever developed in Europe.

GETTING bETTER ThANKS TO JuLES VERNE

The maiden flight of ATV Jules Verne in 2008 marked the first rendezvous and docking by a European spacecraft, and the first European resupply mission to the International Space Station. Since then, continuous improvements have been made.

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Jules Verne ATV following undocking from the International Space Station.

Unpacking the pressurised cargo carrier of ATV at Europe’s

Spaceport in Kourou.

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During those hundred days of the Johannes Kepler attached phase the crew gradually removes all the cargo and replaces it with unwanted material – liquid and dry waste – to clear the limited space in the Station.

Once the cargo is offloaded and part of the propellant has been spent, the vehicle can be loaded with rubbish and start its return flight, thereby freeing the docking port for another vehicle. With the resupply mission completed by the beginning of June, the crew seals the hatch and the spacecraft undocks from the ISS by ground command.

ATV-2’s last journey will be a controlled and destructive reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. Its engines deorbit the spacecraft on a steep flight path that causes it to break up and burn high harmlessly over an uninhabited area of the southern Pacific Ocean.

ENcOuNTER WITh ThE ATMOSphERE

Johannes Kepler remains as a pressurised part of the orbital complex for three and a half months. The ATV can be attached for up to six months and the actual stay depends on the needs of the ISS and its schedule of visiting spacecrafts.

A lAST TRANSMISSION FROM ThE FuTuRE SpAcE ‘blAcK bOx‘ Johannes Kepler will perform a last task before its disintegration in the atmosphere. A small device will share ATV’s trip: the Reentry Breakup Recorder (REBR) will gather data to help engineers understand reentry breakup and make reentering space junk less hazardous. It might also be a prototype for a black box system for future space transportation systems.

As ATV-2 enters the atmosphere, the system will turn on its suite of sensors to record data on the vehicle’s breakup for about five minutes.

Built by The Aerospace Corporation and funded by the US Air Force, this device contains miniature sensors that will collect information about temperature, pressure and other data to help define how ATV-2 responds as it reenters. The sensors and data recorder are enclosed in a heatshield that provides protection from the severe reentry environment.

The ATV-2 breakup due to aerodynamic heating and forces will cause REBR – a ‘cell phone with a heatshield’ – to be jettisoned from Johannes Kepler. This will cause REBR to

activate its own transmitter and uplink the recorded data to an Iridium satellite. With this last ‘phone home’ before impact in the Pacific Ocean, the future space black box could be born.

ATV burning up in Earth’s atmosphere at the end of its mission.


European Space Agency15

The European space vessel is designed to be flexible. Cargo will vary from flight to flight depending on ISS needs. This flexibility makes it an excellent basis for developing a wide variety of new space vehicles, starting with atmospheric reentry and download from the ISS.

ATV could evolve into an unmanned free-flying laboratory able to dock periodically with the ISS and be used as a safe haven for the entire crew in case of emergency. Automatic missions could also serve for space debris mitigation or in-orbit servicing of other spacecraft.

The future of the European vessel includes the possibility of flying people in it. ATV is the basis of the proposed Advanced Reentry Vehicle (ARV): the pressurised cabin could be transformed into a capsule

ThE FuTuRE

ATV’s path doesn’t end here. The third in the row has already a name, Edoardo Amaldi, in honour of the Italian physicist and space pioneer. The planned launch cadence of one ATV per year over the next four years will be the next challenge after ATV-2.

for carrying people, making it a fully-fledged crew transport vehicle. This spacecraft could be used in support of future orbital infrastructures and exploration missions.

Further into the future, ATVs could be developed into a transfer vehicle for carrying tonnes of supplies and equipment, including space telescopes and planetary spacecraft, to lunar and martian orbits.

ESA’s Advanced Reentry Vehicle approaching the ISS.

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ESA CONTACTS

European Space Agency (ESA)Directorate of Human Spaceflight Communication Programme OfficeESTEC, Noordwijk, The NetherlandsTel: +31 71 565 3009www.esa.int/spaceflight

ESA Media RelationsESA Head Office, Paris, FranceTel: +33 1 5369 [email protected]

CREDITS

This document has been compiled, produced and written by the Coordination Office of the European Space Agency’s Directorate of Human Spaceflight in Noordwijk, The Netherlands.

MEdIA ASSISTANcE

Photo credits: ESA, NASA

USEFUL LINKS

ESA Human Spaceflightwww.esa.int/spaceflight

ATV Minisitewww.esa.int/SPECIALS/ATV

YouTube ESA Channelwww.youtube.com/user/ESA


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