ESA’s Jules Verne ATV was used for the first time on Wednesday to transfer, in one step, 811-kg of refueling propellant to the International Space Station—while this was occurring, the two vehicles orbited Earth at 28,000 km/h. Jules Verne becomes the first western spaceship to succeed in refueling another space infrastructure in orbit. The refueling required less than half an hour to automatically transfer about 280-kg of the Russian UDMH (Unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine) propellant fuel and 530-kg of Nitrogen Tetroxide (N2O4), (which provides a source of oxygen so the fuel can ignite and burn in orbit) to the ISS’ Russian-built propulsion tanks. Due to the toxic and explosive characteristics of the hydrazine, the transfer is managed through dedicated pipes located outside the pressurized structures of the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) and the Station. The fuel lines run from the ATV, through the docking mechanism, to the Space Station’s own plumbing. The ISS crew was not involved in the refueling operation. The ATV Control Center in Toulouse, France, prepped the ATV for the refueling operations.
ATV Feeds A Hungry ISS
ESA’s Jules Verne ATV was used for the first time on Wednesday to transfer, in one step, 811-kg of refueling propellant to the International Space Station—while this was occurring, the two vehicles orbited Earth at 28,000 km/h. Jules Verne becomes the first western spaceship to succeed in refueling another space infrastructure in orbit. The refueling required less than half an hour to automatically transfer about 280-kg of the Russian UDMH (Unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine) propellant fuel and 530-kg of Nitrogen Tetroxide (N2O4), (which provides a source of oxygen so the fuel can ignite and burn in orbit) to the ISS’ Russian-built propulsion tanks. Due to the toxic and explosive characteristics of the hydrazine, the transfer is managed through dedicated pipes located outside the pressurized structures of the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) and the Station. The fuel lines run from the ATV, through the docking mechanism, to the Space Station’s own plumbing. The ISS crew was not involved in the refueling operation. The ATV Control Center in Toulouse, France, prepped the ATV for the refueling operations.
