European Cargo Ship Touches Base - by Alexandre Carst
After two successful rehearsals, the European cargo ship, Jules Verne, flawlessly docked at the International Space Station (ISS) at about 10:40 a.m. This is the first of many automated resupply ships to come that are to make runs back and forth to the ISS. "It was a first for Europe and we achieved it on the first try," ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain said, during a post-docking webcast. "I think it's an incredible technical feat." The European Space Agency has spent over a decade developing and building the cargo ship and the total cost was of $1.3 billion Euros. Much depended on the ATV’s success, as now, funds adding up to more than $350 million for other ESA space projects have been made available.
The European ATV is the first brand new ship to visit the ISS in nine years, coming after NASA's U.S. space shuttles and Russia's Soyuz and Progress vehicles. The spacecraft, also known as an Automated Transfer Vehicle, carried 8 tons of supplies, including fresh food, water and equipment. Some handwritten manuscripts of the science fiction writer, Jules Verne, are also aboard the ship. Besides its supply function, the ATV has a secondary objective; it will be used to push the ISS into a higher orbit.
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