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Georges Lemaître ATV

Georges Lemaître ATV
Georges Lemaître ATV final approach for docking.jpg
Georges Lemaître ATV on approach for docking to the ISS on August 12, 2014
Mission type ISS resupply
Operator European Space Agency
COSPAR ID 2014-044A
SATCAT no. 40103
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type ATV
Manufacturer Airbus Defence and Space
Thales Alenia Space
Launch mass 20,293 kilograms (44,738 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date 29 July 2014, 23:47:38 (2014-07-29UTC23:47:38Z) UTC
Rocket Ariane 5ES
Launch site Kourou ELA-3
Contractor Arianespace
End of mission
Disposal Deorbited
Decay date 15 February 2015, 18:04 (2015-02-15UTC18:05Z) UTC
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Low Earth
Perigee 412 kilometres (256 mi)
Apogee 422 kilometres (262 mi)
Inclination 51.65 degrees
Period 92.77 minutes
Epoch 14 December 2014, 02:33:36 UTC
Docking with ISS
Docking port Zvezda Aft
Docking date 12 August 2014, 13:30 UTC
Undocking date 14 February 2015, 13:42 UTC
Time docked 186 days, 0 hour, 12 minutes
Cargo
Mass 6,555 kilograms (14,451 lb)
Pressurised 2,622 kilograms (5,781 lb)
Fuel 2,978 kilograms (6,565 lb)
Gaseous 100 kilograms (220 lb)
Water 855 kilograms (1,885 lb)
ATV-GeorgesLemaitre.jpg

The Georges Lemaître ATV, or Automated Transfer Vehicle 5 (ATV-5), was a European unmanned cargo resupply spacecraft, named after the Belgian astronomer Georges Lemaître. The spacecraft was launched during the night of 29 July (23:44 GMT, 20:44 local time, 30 July 01:44 CEST), 2014, on a mission to supply the International Space Station (ISS) with propellant, water, air, and dry cargo. It is the fifth and final ATV to be built, following the Albert Einstein, which launched on 5 June 2013. Georges Lemaître was constructed in Turin, Italy, and Bremen, Germany. Cargo loading was completed in Guiana Space Center on 23 July 2014.

Georges Lemaître was launched on an Ariane 5ES rocket from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana. The launch was conducted by Arianespace on behalf of the European Space Agency. This is the final planned launch of the Automated Transfer Vehicle.

Artist Katie Paterson sent artwork to the International Space Station aboard ATV-5.

Georges Lemaitre ferried 6.6 tonnes of experiments, spare parts, clothing, food, fuel, air, oxygen and water to the ISS. In addition to the usual cargo ATV-5 performed 2 experiments:

LIRIS (Laser InfraRed Imaging Sensors) was a new autonomous rendezvous sensor set that allowed future ships to dock with uncooperative targets, like debris or sample capsules - Georges Lemaître used a demonstration version of it instead of standard optical sensors bouncing light off the reflectors around ISS docking port.


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