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.

Composite Cryotank Loaded into Test Stand at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

Engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, recently began the first in a series of tests of one of the largest composite cryotanks ever built. 

The 18-foot-diameter (5.5-meter) cylinder-shaped tank was lowered into a structural test stand at the Marshall Center.

To check tank and test stand operations, the first tests are being conducted at ambient temperature with gaseous nitrogen. 

Future tests this summer will be with liquid hydrogen cooled to super cold, or cryogenic, temperatures. 

The orange ends of the tank are made of metal and attach to the test stand so that structural loads can be applied similarly to those the tank would experience during a rocket launch.

The composite cryotank is part of NASA’s Game Changing Development Program and Space Technology Mission Directorate, which are innovating, developing, testing and flying hardware for use in NASA's future missions. 

NASA focused on this technology because composite tanks promise a 30-percent weight reduction and a 25-percent cost savings over the best metal tanks used today.

The tank was manufactured with new materials and processes at the Boeing Developmental Center in Tukwila, Washington.

Image Credit: NASA/MSFC

ESA Cryosat-2 being loaded into Dnepr launcher

Credits: ESA/W. Simpson

Final look at ESA’s CryoSat-2 satellite as it disappears from view within the Dnepr 'space head module' on 10 February.



Credits: ESA/P. Carril

CryoSat-2 will be taken into orbit on a Dnepr launch vehicle. Unusually, the upper stage flies backwards before releasing the satellite, ensuring the most accurate orbit injection.

As preparations for the launch of ESA's ice mission on 25 February continue on schedule, an important milestone has just been reached with the team at the Baikonur Cosmodrome saying farewell to CryoSat-2 as it was encapsulated in the rocket's 'space head module'.

This milestone is the culmination of over three weeks of work testing the satellite at the launch site in Kazakhstan. Now, sealing CryoSat-2 from view, the protective fairing will not be released until just over 16 minutes after launch, when the satellite is injected into orbit.

Dnepr separation
The CryoSat mission is dedicated to precise monitoring of the variations in the thickness of ice. The mission will provide detailed data on changes in the thickness of both ice floating in the polar oceans and the vast ice sheets that cover Greenland and Antarctica. With the effects of a changing climate fast becoming apparent, particularly in the polar regions, this information is urgently needed to further our understanding of the complex interactions between ice and climate.

Since it was shipped to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in January, the CryoSat-2 satellite has been undergoing an intense series of tests to ensure it is ready for launch. Although this particular launch campaign has not all been plain sailing, the preparations remain on schedule and launch is still set for 25 February at 14:57 CET (13:57 UT).