One day before launch: Today is Launch Monday L-1
Today is 'Launch Monday' - noted as 'L-1' in the mission planning documentation - and there are a number of crucial activities that will be taking place at Kourou, French Guiana, and at ATV-CC in...
View ArticleAriane is enroute to the launch pad!
If you are in Kourou, the launch preparations of Ariane 5 v200 with ATV Johannes Kepler on board are now also visible - no more mere simulations, testing or work inside the high-rise buildings. Today,...
View ArticleDiary from a space project : Countdown preparations have started
The latest (and possibly final?) installment from Charlotte Beskow in Kourou, sent in last night. She gives a review of what went on during yesterday's very impressive Ariane 5 roll-out. We've also...
View ArticleUpdate from Kourou: Launch Control Centre
This just in from ESA's Charlotte Beslow: One bad quality photo and one taken this morning of the panneau des infos. Coming in to work, people gave me the thumbs up! We are in the Jupiter Control Room...
View Article… and some photos from ATV-CC Toulouse
It's silent in Toulouse right now: the calm before a storm of activity! Some of the ATV engineers and controllers are going home for a quick meal and rest before an action-packed night - but some are...
View ArticleNew launch time: Tonight at 22:50:55 CET
What happened yesterday? The final countdown was stopped 4 minutes and 1 second before the planned launch time because of a measurement anomaly in the liquid oxygen propellant tank of the cryogenic...
View ArticleCharlotte in Kourou: 7 hours to go!
ESA's Charlotte Beskow in Kourou just sent us a mail: I am now on console. As I lift my head I see four clocks showing: +14:53 || 21:50 || -06:57 || -06:57 ... and my PC tells me "11:54" and my...
View ArticleOperations timeline 15/16 February 2011
UPDATED FOR SECOND LAUNCH ATTEMPT 16 FEB 2011 15 16 February is ATV Johannes Kepler launch day - it's show time (again)! ATV lift-off is set for 23:13 22:50 CET on board Ariane 5 ES V200 (the 200th...
View ArticleESA Mission Director Kris Capelle: ready for today’s launch
UPDATED WITH EDITED VIDEO FILE - 16.02 20:41 CET ESA's lead ATV Mission Director, Kris Capelle, explains what's happening today at ATV-CC as the mission operations team gets ready for tonight's Ariane...
View ArticleHappening in Kourou now-ish…
According to the planned Ariane launch events list, here's what's happening in Kourou this afternoon. All times approximate and given with respect to -H0 (23:56 CEST): 11h Start of final countdown 7h...
View ArticleATV: Latest launch time update
This came in yesterday from ESA's Kris Capelle, lead mission director at ATV-CC. The latest calculations have set ATV-2 launch time on 15 February as 23:13:14 CET (22:13:14 GMT/UT), which is 19:13:14...
View ArticleEurope’s ATV space ferry ready for launch
ESA's newest press release was published today reporting loud and clear that ATV Johannes Kepler is ready for launch to the International Space Station on Tuesday, 15 February, at 22:08 GMT (23:08 CET)...
View ArticleFinal rehearsal at ATV-CC
Earlier this week, on 2 February, mission controllers at ATV-CC conducted the final pre-launch rehearsal, involving all control centres supporting the ISS (including Mission Control Center Houston, MCC...
View ArticleAriane 5 fairing is now being lowered over ATV
... this just in from Charlotte in Kourou
View ArticleATV installed on top of Ariane 5
The second Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) to be orbited by Arianespace has been installed on its Ariane 5 launch vehicle, keeping preparations on track for a February 15 mission to service the...
View ArticleDetails on ATV events
As the newly added count-down clock in our ATV blog indicates (see top-right), the ATV liftoff is just a week away! We're starting to get more details on ATV-related launch events here and there. First...
View ArticleATV launch ‘dress rehearsal’ at Kourou today
It's a big day at Kourou - and, in fact, on several other continents! The 'Repetition Generale' - launch dress rehearsal - gets underway at 14:08 CET. It then runs in 'real-time' for 9hrs 30mins up to...
View ArticleRehearsal: It’s great to be at this stage
This just in from ESA's Charlotte Beskow in Kourou for today's dress rehearsal: Yes, both Nico Dettmann and I will be on console. We are monitoring overall ATV status as well as the planned activations...
View ArticleYou can watch it in ESA web, too
NASA TV Airs Second European Cargo Craft Flight To Space Station HOUSTON -- NASA Television plans live coverage of the launch and automated docking of the second unpiloted European cargo ship that will...
View ArticleKourou diary: It’s quite exiting to hear each team give their GO / NOGO for...
In parallel the LRR also gave its OK - ATV is now formally cleared for launch on 15 February. The latest report from ESA's Charlotte Beskow in Kourou, received earlier today. 11 February 2011 D - 3:...
View ArticleLaunch Readiness Review complete
The final, full 'dress rehearsal' of the countdown and launch was held on 9 February at the Arianespace Launch Control Centre in Kourou. The following day, 10 February, ATV successfully passed its...
View ArticleATV launch time update
Latest predicted launch time: 23:13:27 CET ESA's Nico Dettmann sent in a note to say that the launch time of ATV Johannes Kepler has been changed by 5 minutes from 22:08 (UTC) to 22:13:27 (UTC) =...
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