TAG | Jules Verne exits Space Station for destruct sequence |
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| by William Atkins | |
| Sunday, 07 September 2008 | |
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Page 2 of 3 In addition, the Jules Verne—which is 10.3 meters long, 4.5 meters wide, and has a dry weight of 23,000 pounds, along with a 1,685-cubic-foot pressurized interior area—has been used as a storage and sleeping room, along with an area to perform experiments. It has the capacity to carry about 10,000 pounds of propellant for its own use. After all of these inputs are removed from the ATV, over 13,800 pounds of dry and liquid wastes can be loaded for incineration during its fiery trip into the Earth’s atmosphere. As the first fully automated rendezvous-and-docking spacecraft to go to the International Space Station, ESA official John Ellwood told BBC News, “It has satisfied all its requirements; it's met all our dreams and more." [BBC News: “Jules Verne' begins final voyage”] Ellwood adds, "The performance has in some cases been even better than we expected. It's been very satisfying after so much hard work by so many people.” Ellwood comments on its night descent into the Earth’s atmosphere, "It will be much easier to observe at night. We're going to do the re-entry directly underneath the space station so the astronauts can take photographs of it. We want to make sure that everything we've done is correct, and this will be the final confirmation.” For additional information on Jules Verne, please visit the NASA website “Jules Verne Leaves Station, Progress Launches Wednesday .” A second ATV is being prepared by ESA for a June 2010 launch. How will the United States send NASA crews back and forth from the ISS after it retires its space shuttles in 2010? Please read page three to see if the ESA may help out. |
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