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Successful late access loading test for Jules Verne

From: David Merchant <merchant~at~LATECH.EDU>
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 17:15:54 -0600
Resent-From: <merchant~at~LATECH.EDU>
To: Jules Verne Forum <jvf~at~Gilead.org.il>
Resent-Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 17:15:56 -0600 (CST)

PRESS RELEASE
Date Released: Thursday, February 24, 2005
Source: European Space Agency
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=16227

Successful late access loading test for Jules Verne

For the first time last month, technicians at ESA's research centre in
Noordwijk, the Netherlands, including an ESA astronaut, entered inside the
vertically positioned Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), Jules Verne, in
order to simulate the late loading of cargo bags.

An identical operation will be performed for real one week before the first
ATV launch on top of an Ariane 5 launcher, from Europe's Spaceport in
Kourou, French Guiana, in 2006.

"This first late access dress rehearsal has been successful and has proved
that it is possible to place an operator inside the vertically positioned
bus-size Cargo Carrier and load small cargo units - thanks to a retractable
mechanism placed inside the ATV - through the opened hatch of the ATV
docking system mechanism", said Dominique Siruguet, an ESA engineer in
charge of ATV operations at the French Guiana European launch site.

The ATV is able to carry between 1500 and 5500 kg of dry cargo to the
International Space Station. Contained in bags of different sizes, the
cargo will be stored in the 48 m3- pressurized section of ATV. Most of this
ISS re-supply cargo will be loaded horizontally through the large opening
at the aft end of the pressurized module, opposite the docking system at
the front end. At this stage, the ATV service module, housing the avionics
and the propulsion system, is not yet mated to the pressurized cargo section.

To add some flexibility in the re-supply capability of the ATV, a small
fraction of the dry cargo can be loaded into the ATV just eight days before
launch when the spaceship is undergoing final launch preparations on top of
the 50-metre Ariane 5, just before being enclosed in its white
aerodynamically-shaped fairing.

Horizontal platform

For this delicate operation, a crew of seven technicians will install a
horizontal platform around the cone of the vertically positioned ATV. They
will slowly open the 75-kg docking mechanism, which rotates twice down in
the pressurized module so as to give free access through the 80-cm diameter
hatch.

Through the vertical opening, an operator is carried down into the 5-metre
deep ATV Cargo Carrier on a retractable platform, which is much like a
one-person lift without sidewalls. A mini-crane then carries down - through
the hatch - bags of different sizes that are neatly tied down with an
adjustable belt into modular storage cargo elements, or 'racks', which look
like metal shelving.

For the inaugural flight of Jules Verne ATV, four white bags of 14 kg each,
filled with a variety of products, such as fresh fruit, videos, clothes or
family mail, will be loaded during this late access operation, which can be
conducted in one day. In fact, the entire dry cargo could be loaded in this
way, but for operational reasons, it is restricted to a small quantity to
minimize the impact on the Ariane 5 launch preparations.

To comply with the Europe's Spaceport safety requirements, operators who go
inside the ATV must constantly wear a harness. The test has also shown that
the ATV can be evacuated within 10 minutes in case of an emergency.

"The Swiss made hardware, which lowers down the operator and the Cargo
Transfer Bags inside the ATV, worked beautifully. It was very comfortable
and easy to carry down the bags and fix them safely in all rack locations",
said ESA astronaut Jean-François Clervoy, the senior advisor to the ATV
programme, and one of the two operators who performed the successful late
access test on Jules Verne. "It was a great feeling to enter the spacious
ATV cabin, the first spaceship built in Europe, whilst it was positioned
vertically", added the three-time Space Shuttle veteran astronaut.

The maiden flight of Jules Verne ATV, scheduled for 2006, will be the first
rendezvous and docking of a European spacecraft in orbit and also the first
European re-supply mission to the Space Station.
Received on Sat 26 Feb 2005 - 01:16:11 IST

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