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Jules Verne ATV

Jules Verne ATV
Jules verne at iss.jpg
Jules Verne on its approach to the International Space Station.
Mission type ISS resupply
Operator European Space Agency
COSPAR ID 2008-008A
SATCAT № 32686
Mission duration 7 months
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type ATV
Manufacturer EADS Astrium
Thales Alenia Space
Launch mass 19,360 kilograms (42,680 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date 9 March 2008, 04:03 (2008-03-09UTC04:03Z) UTC
Rocket Ariane 5ES
Launch site Kourou ELA-3
Contractor Arianespace
End of mission
Disposal Deorbited
Decay date 29 September 2008, 13:31 (2008-09-29UTC13:32Z) UTC
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Low Earth
Perigee 331 kilometres (179 nmi)
Apogee 339 kilometres (183 nmi)
Inclination 51.6 degrees
Period 91.34 minutes
Docking with ISS
Docking port Zvezda Aft
Docking date 3 April 2008, 14:45 UTC
Undocking date 5 September 2008, 21:29 UTC
Time docked 5 months
Cargo
Mass 2,297 kilograms (5,064 lb)
Pressurised 1,150 kilograms (2,540 lb)
Fuel 856 kilograms (1,887 lb)
Gaseous 21 kilograms (46 lb)
Water 270 kilograms (600 lb)

The Jules Verne ATV, or Automated Transfer Vehicle 001 (ATV-001), was an unmanned cargo resupply spacecraft launched by the European Space Agency (ESA). The ATV was named after the 19th-century French science-fiction author Jules Verne. It was launched on 9 March 2008 on a mission to supply the International Space Station (ISS) with propellant, water, air, and dry cargo. Jules Verne was the first of five ATVs to be launched.

Because it was the first ATV to be launched, Jules Verne underwent three weeks of orbital testing before beginning its final rendezvous with the ISS. The spacecraft docked to the ISS on 3 April 2008 to deliver its cargo. On 25 April 2008, Jules Verne used its thrusters to reboost the station into a higher orbit. After spending just over five months docked at the station, Jules Verne undocked on 5 September 2008 and made a destructive re-entry over the Pacific Ocean on 29 September.

The first ATV was officially named Jules Verne on 9 April 2002; it was originally planned to be one of seven ATVs, and to launch in 2007. By the end of January 2003, most of its components had been assembled. These components were built by several different aerospace companies; the docking and refuelling systems were produced by RSC Energia in Russia, the pressurised section was assembled by Alenia Spazio in Turin, Italy, and the propulsion system was constructed by EADS Astrium in Bremen, Germany. The propulsion system was integrated with the pressurised compartment in Bremen, before the spacecraft was moved to the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, for testing. It arrived at ESTEC on 15 July 2004.


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