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ESA readies the Jules Verne for docking


Published: March 24, 2008 at 11:49 AM
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TOULOUSE, France, March 24 (UPI) -- The European Space Agency is preparing the Jules Verne automatic transfer vehicle for Europe's first automated docking in space.

The Jules Verne is currently in a parking orbit about a mile ahead of the International Space Station. ESA controllers plan to put the spacecraft through two demonstration dockings, moving successively closer to the ISS, and then finally the actual rendezvous and docking attempt, scheduled for April 3.

"The spacecraft is functioning perfectly, the team is very well trained and we are looking forward to an excellent first docking attempt …," said Alberto Novelli, ESA's mission director at the ATV Control Center in Toulouse, France.

The ATV's automated collision avoidance maneuver capability was successfully tested in-flight March 14, and other functions of the sophisticated docking control system will be evaluated in two upcoming tests.

The first on March 29 will involve the ATV's guidance and navigation system. It will show the ATV can perform navigation with the ISS using relative global positioning satellites. The second test March 31 will include ground controllers and the ISS crew practicing contingency procedures.

If ESA controllers approve the test results, the first docking attempt will be made April 3.

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