ESA Portal - International partners update launch manifest

Backdropped by the blackness of space, ESA's Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle (lower left) appears to be very small as it continues its relative separation from the International Space Station.

The ATV undocked from the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module at 23:29 CEST on 5 September 2008 and was placed in a parking orbit for three weeks, scheduled to be deorbited on 29 September when lighting conditions are correct for an ESA imagery experiment of reentry.

Credits: NASA