Albert Einstein ATV
ATV-4 "Albert Einstein" approaching the Zvezda Service Module on 15 June 2013
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| Mission type | ISS resupply |
|---|---|
| Operator | European Space Agency |
| COSPAR ID | 2013-027A |
| SATCAT no. | 39175 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | ATV |
| Manufacturer |
EADS Astrium Thales Alenia Space |
| Launch mass | 20,190 kilograms (44,510 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 5 June 2013, 21:52:11 UTC |
| Rocket | Ariane 5ES |
| Launch site | Kourou ELA-3 |
| Contractor | Arianespace |
| End of mission | |
| Disposal | Deorbited |
| Decay date | 2 November 2013, 12:04 UTC |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Inclination | 51.6 degrees |
| Docking with ISS | |
| Docking port | Zvezda Aft |
| Docking date | 15 June 2013, 14:07 UTC |
| Undocking date | 28 October 2013, 08:55 UTC |
| Time docked | 134 days, 18 hours, 48 minutes |
| Cargo | |
| Mass | 6,590 kilograms (14,530 lb) |
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The Albert Einstein ATV, or Automated Transfer Vehicle 004 (ATV-004), was a European unmanned cargo resupply spacecraft, named after the German-born physicist Albert Einstein. It was built to supply the International Space Station (ISS) with propellant, water, air, and dry cargo, and also to reboost the station's altitude with its thrusters. It was the fourth and penultimate ATV to be built, following the Edoardo Amaldi, which was launched in March 2012. Albert Einstein's components were constructed in Turin, Italy, and Bremen, Germany, and underwent final assembly and testing in Bremen in 2012. The spacecraft left Bremen for Kourou on 31 August 2012 to begin launch preparations.
Albert Einstein was launched on an Ariane 5ES rocket from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana at 21:52:11 UTC on 5 June 2013. The launch was conducted by Arianespace on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA). At the time of its launch, Albert Einstein was the heaviest spacecraft ever launched to orbit by an Ariane rocket, with a total mass of 20,190 kilograms (44,510 lb). The ATV docked successfully with the ISS at 14:07 UTC (16:07 CEST) on 15 June 2013. After a successful five-month mission, Albert Einstein re-entered the Earth's atmosphere and was destroyed, as planned, on 2 November 2013.
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