ESA ATV-5 Georges Lemaître: Loaded and Locked

ATV-5 (Georges Lemaître) mounted on the Ariane 5 ES launcher before encapsulation.

Credit: ESA–M. Pedoussaut, 2014

ESA's fifth Automated Transfer Vehicle, Georges Lemaître, is now scheduled for launch to the International Space Station at 23:44 GMT on 29 July (01:44 CEST 30 July) on an Ariane 5 ES rocket from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

ATV-5 (Georges Lemaître) will deliver more than six tonnes of cargo to the Station, again breaking the record for the heaviest spacecraft launched on Ariane 5 ES launcher.

Everything has been loaded and the ferry is now sealed until it reaches the orbital outpost.

ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst will be the first to open the hatch of ATV Georges Lemaître in space when he takes responsibility for the cargo as 'loadmaster'.

Alexander will manage the unloading of 6.6 tonnes of experiments, spare parts, clothing, food, fuel, air, oxygen and water for the six astronauts living in the weightless laboratory.

The star of the manifest is ESA's Electromagnetic Levitator, which will study metals suspended in weightlessness as it heats them to 1600°C and then allows them to cool.

The 400 kg unit was carefully loaded into ATV-5 in Kourou before the vessel's propulsion module was attached.

ATV's two main sections were then mated, leaving access to the cargo hold only through the forward hatch used by the astronauts.

A special lift allowed technicians to enter the hold from above through this hatch, weeks before final closing time.

Fifty-seven bags were loaded this way, including last-minute spare parts such as a pump to help recycle water on the Station.

ESA ATV-5 Georges Lemaitre loaded with cargo after integration with Ariane 5 launcher

All ATVs have been orbited by Ariane 5 launchers, beginning with "Jules Verne" in March 2008, which was followed by "Johannes Kepler" in February 2011, "Edoardo Amaldi" in March 2012, and last June's flight with "Albert Einstein."

Europe's fifth, and final, Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) is now integrated with its Ariane 5 launcher, enabling final cargo loading in preparation for Arianespace's July 24 mission from French Guiana.

The ATV is named after Belgian physicist and father of the Big Bang theory, Georges Lemaitre, and it will deliver fuel, air and more than 2,600 kg. of dry cargo to the International Space Station.

ESA ATV-5 cargo racks filled with cargo for ISS.

In addition, this ATV resupply spacecraft will perform maneuvers to maintain the facility's nominal orbit, as well as test new rendezvous sensors in space.

Using a hoist system set-up in Ariane 5's Final Assembly Building at the Spaceport, the remaining cargo is being loaded through the ATV's top hatch, carefully securing these bags supplied by the European, U.S. and Japanese space agencies.

The ATV program, managed by the European Space Agency (ESA), is part of Europe's contribution to the International Space Station's operation. Prime contractor is Airbus Defence and Space, which also is the industrial architect for Ariane 5.

All ATVs have been orbited by Ariane 5 launchers, beginning with "Jules Verne" in March 2008, which was followed by "Johannes Kepler" in February 2011, "Edoardo Amaldi" in March 2012, and last June's flight with "Albert Einstein."

Arianespace's latest ATV mission in support of International Space Station operations is designated Flight VA219 in the company's numbering system, and will utilize an Ariane 5 ES version of the heavy-lift workhorse.

ESA's ATV-5 for launch by Arianespace begins its pre-flight checkout

The Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) "Georges Lemaitre" has begun pre-flight checkout in the Spaceport's clean room facilities, following its arrival in French Guiana for a scheduled Ariane 5 flight next year.

As the fifth and final ATV to be launched by Arianespace under current arrangements with the European Space Agency, this spacecraft's Integrated Cargo Carrier (ICC) has now been removed from its special shipping container in the S5C preparation hall.

The ICC makes up 60 percent of the Automated Transfer Vehicle's total volume, with the capacity of ferrying up to 6.6 metric tons of cargo - both dry and fluid - on the spacecraft's servicing mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

Incorporating a two-part design, the Integrated Cargo Carrier includes a pressurized module for docking to the space station, where all dry materials are contained.

Up to two ISS astronauts can access this section while the spacecraft is attached to the orbital facility, working to unload supplies or conduct experiments.

Fluid cargo - such as propellant for refueling of the International Space Station - is stored in the ICC's non-pressurized area and transferred to the space station through pipes or manually operated hoses.

Prior to Georges Lemaitre's ESA-targeted launch date in 2014, final assembly of the spacecraft will be carried out at the Spaceport, including the Integrated Cargo Carrier, the Service Module solar panels and the Separation and Distancing Module (SDM) that links the ATV to its Ariane 5 vehicle.

Designated Georges Lemaitre after the Belgian physicist and father of the Big Bang theory, the fifth Automated Transfer Vehicle will resupply the International Space Station, as well as perform maneuvers to maintain this manned facility's nominal orbit.

An Astrium-led industry consortium is responsible for producing this series of resupply spacecraft under the European Space Agency-managed program.

To date all four Automated Transfer Vehicles have been orbited by Ariane 5 ES launchers, beginning with "Jules Verne" in March 2008, which was followed by "Johannes Kepler" in February 2011, "Edoardo Amaldi" in March 2012, and this June's flight with "Albert Einstein."