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Edoardo Amaldi ATV

The Edoardo Amaldi ATV, or Automated Transfer Vehicle 003 (ATV-003), was a European uncrewed cargo spacecraft, named after the 20th-century Italian physicist Edoardo Amaldi.[2] The spacecraft was launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) on 23 March 2012, on a mission to supply the International Space Station (ISS) with propellant, water, oxygen, and dry cargo.[3][4][5]

Edoardo Amaldi ATV
Edoardo Amaldi during its approach to the ISS on 28 March 2012
Mission typeISS resupply
OperatorEuropean Space Agency
COSPAR ID2012-010A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.38096
Mission duration6 months
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeATV
ManufacturerEADS Astrium
Thales Alenia Space
Launch mass20,050 kilograms (44,200 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date23 March 2012, 04:34:12 (2012-03-23UTC04:34:12Z) UTC
RocketAriane 5ES
Launch siteKourou ELA-3
ContractorArianespace
End of mission
DisposalDeorbited
Decay date3 October 2012, 01:23 (2012-10-03UTC01:24Z) UTC
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Perigee altitude410 kilometres (250 mi)
Apogee altitude420 kilometres (260 mi)
Inclination51.64 degrees
Period92.73 minutes
Epoch2 October 2012, 19:36:14 UTC[1]
Docking with ISS
Docking portZvezda Aft
Docking date28 March 2012, 22:51 UTC
Undocking date28 September 2012, 21:44 UTC
← ATV-2
ATV-4 →

Edoardo Amaldi was the third ATV to be built, following Jules Verne (2008) and Johannes Kepler (2011). At the time of its launch, it was the world's largest single operational spacecraft, with a total launch mass of over 20 tonnes (44,000 lb).[6] The ATV completed its mission successfully, and was deorbited on 3 October 2012, burning up in the Earth's atmosphere as planned.

Mission payload

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Cargo Mass
ISS
reboost/attitude
control propellant 		3,150 kilograms (6,940 lb)
ISS
refuel propellant 		860 kilograms (1,900 lb)
Oxygen gas 100 kilograms (220 lb)
Water 285 kilograms (628 lb)
Dry cargo
(food, clothes, equipment) 		2,200 kilograms (4,900 lb)
Total 6,595 kilograms (14,539 lb)
Source: ESA[7]

Amaldi letter

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In addition to its primary cargo, the ATV carried a reproduction of a letter written by its namesake, Edoardo Amaldi, in 1958. This document, whose original is of significant historical value, reflects Amaldi's vision of a peaceful and non-military European space organisation – a blueprint for the real-life ESA.

Mission summary

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Edoardo Amaldi departs from the ISS on 28 September 2012.
 
ESA astronaut André Kuipers floats into the ATV.

Launch

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Edoardo Amaldi arrived at the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana, in August 2011 to undergo pre-launch preparations. The spacecraft was mounted on an Ariane 5ES rocket, and was launched on 23 March 2012 by Arianespace on behalf of the European Space Agency.

Docking

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The ATV docked with the ISS on 28 March 2012, five days after its launch. In addition to resupplying the Expedition 30 astronauts, Edoardo Amaldi used its thrusters to boost the station's altitude.[8][9]

Deorbit

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The ATV was initially planned to undock from the ISS on 25 September 2012.[10][11] However, a command program error during the undocking procedure delayed the release,[12] and Edoardo Amaldi did not actually undock until 21:44 GMT on 28 September.[13] The spacecraft finally deorbited and performed a destructive re-entry over the Pacific Ocean on 3 October 2012, taking with it a payload of station waste.[14]

ATV missions

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Designation Name Launch date ISS docking date Deorbit date Sources
ATV-1 Jules Verne 9 March 2008 3 April 2008 29 September 2008

[15]

ATV-2 Johannes Kepler 16 February 2011 24 February 2011 21 July 2011

[16]

ATV-3 Edoardo Amaldi 23 March 2012 28 March 2012 3 October 2012[14]

[17]

ATV-4 Albert Einstein 5 June 2013 15 June 2013 2 November 2013

[18] [19]

ATV-5 Georges Lemaître 29 July 2014[20][21] 12 August 2014[20] 15 February 2015[21]

[22] [23]

See also

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Similar cargo spacecraft

References

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  1. ^ Peat, Chris (2 October 2012). "ATV-3 - Orbit". Heavens Above. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  2. ^ "Third ATV named after Edoardo Amaldi". ESA. 16 March 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  3. ^ "Space station cargo delivery delayed about two weeks". Spaceflight Now. 2 March 2012. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
  4. ^ "ATV-4 to carry name Albert Einstein". ESA. 26 May 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
  5. ^ "Edoardo Amaldi Blog". ESA. 3 March 2012. Archived from the original on 20 February 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  6. ^ "ATV-3 Cargo: the world's largest spacecraft". ESA Online Videos. 2 March 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  7. ^ "Information Kit: ATV Edoardo Amaldi" (PDF). ESA. 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
  8. ^ "ISS orbit boosted by ATV Edoardo Amaldi". ESA. 2 April 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  9. ^ "NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 22 May 2012". NASA. 22 May 2012. Archived from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2012 – via SpaceRef.com.
  10. ^ "Europe's third cargo vehicle docks with the Space Station". ESA – ATV. 29 March 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  11. ^ "Fun stuff – Edoardo Amaldi". ESA – ATV. August 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  12. ^ "ATV undocking postponed". ESA – ATV. 26 September 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
  13. ^ "ATV-3 undocks from ISS". ESA – ATV. 28 September 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
  14. ^ a b "Mission accomplished for ATV Edoardo Amaldi" (Press release). ESA. 3 October 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  15. ^ "ATV-1: Jules Verne". ESA – ATV. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  16. ^ "ATV-2: Johannes Kepler". ESA – ATV. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  17. ^ "ATV-3: Edoardo Amaldi". ESA – ATV. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  18. ^ "ATV Albert Einstein" (AdobeFlash). ESA. April 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  19. ^ "ATV-4: Albert Einstein". ESA – ATV. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  20. ^ a b "ATV completes final automated docking". ESA – ATV. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  21. ^ a b "Last ATV reentry leaves legacy for future space exploration". ESA – ATV. 15 February 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  22. ^ "Fifth ATV named after Georges Lemaitre". ESA – ATV. 16 February 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  23. ^ "Europe's Space Freighter" (AdobeFlash). ESA. 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
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