The Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle was used for the first time on Friday to adjust the orbit of the International Space Station. The 12 minute burn of the ATV’s main engine raised the 280 ton orbital station by 4.5 km to an altitude of 342 km. The ATV was designed to carry plenty of additional fuel for such maneuvers.
Only the Russian Progress module and the ATV are capable of performing this powerful of an orbital boost, the US space shuttle fleet doesn’t carry enough fuel to lift the station more than a kilometer or two.
The ISS has to be periodically boosted due to atmospheric drag from its low orbit. The station orbits inside the Earth’s upper atmosphere so that it can be easily reached by cargo-laden space shuttles. After construction is complete, the station will be boosted into a higher and more-stable orbit.
Jules Verne is scheduled for perform additional boosting maneuvers on June 12, July 8, and August 6, after which point the ATV will undock and be guided into a controlled reentry over the Pacific Ocean.
The Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle was used for the first time on Friday to adjust the orbit of the International Space Station. The 12 minute burn of the ATV’s main engine raised the 280 ton orbital station by 4.5 km to an altitude of 342 km. The ATV was designed to carry plenty of additional fuel for such maneuvers.
