ATV Evolution - ESA's NEXT STEP IN SPACE

The International Space Station (ISS) depends on regular deliveries of experiment equipment and spare parts, as well as food, air and water for its permanent crew.
Since the arrival of the first vehicle in April 2008, the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) is one of the indispensable ISS supply spaceships. It is developed under ESA contract by a European industrial consortium lead by EADS Space Transportation, in France.

Approximately every 17 months, ATV carries 7.7 tonnes of cargo to the Station 400 km above the Earth. An onboard high precision navigation system automatically guides ATV on a rendezvous trajectory towards ISS, where it docks with the Station's Russian service module Zvezda.

The ATV remains attached as a pressurised and integral part of the Station for up to six months. After that it starts its final mission: a so-called destructive re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere during which it breaks up and burns, together with up to 6.4 tonnes of material that is no longer used on the Station.

The very successful Jules Verne ATV mission has highlighted many new technologies and capabilities that can be utilised and adapted in the future for developing new spacecraft, which also make use of additional European know-how, such as atmospheric re-entry technologies. Such development could be of great strategic importance for Europe’s role in human spaceflight endeavours in low earth orbit and for future exploration missions, leading to an autonomous launch and return capabilities to and from orbit.