Monthly Archives: June 2013

A record 6.6 tonnes of cargo were hurtling towards the International Space Station after being blasted into orbit by a European rocket from French Guiana.

The space freighter with food, water, oxygen, science experiments and special treats for the ISS astronauts was launched on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe's spaceport in Kourou as planned at 6:52:11 pm (21:52:11 GMT).

The robot craft dubbed Albert Einstein separated from its launcher an hour after liftoff, somewhere over New Zealand, and entered orbit at an altitude of 260 kilometres (160 miles).

Just over half an hour later, it deployed four energy-generating solar panels to start its autonomous navigation, guided by starlight, to the space station.

"This is it. Everything is fine, we have the power, we have the antennas, everything we need to go to the ISS," European Space Agency director general Jean-Jacques Dordain announced at the control centre in Kourou.

The unmanned vessel is set to dock with the ISS on June 15 at an altitude of about 400 kilometres (250 miles) above the planet -- at a speed of some 28,000 kilometres (18,000 miles) per hour.

At nearly 20.2 tonnes, ESA's fourth and penultimate cargo delivery to the ISS is the heaviest spacecraft ever lifted by an Ariane rocket.

It also marked the 55th consecutive succesful launch by an Ariane 5, according to the Astrium space company which builds the lifeline craft.

The robot space freighter is the size of a double-decker bus -- 10 metres (33 feet) long and 4.5 metres (15 feet) in diameter.

It boasts the largest assortment of goods yet brought to the ISS by an Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) -- a total of 1,400 individual items that include clothes, tools and enough food for several months.

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Europe launches record cargo for space station

NASA TV

The "Albert Einstein" Automated Transfer Vehicle launches atop an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana on Wednesday. ATV-4 soared spaceward with Europe's largest-ever load of dry cargo for the station.

By Robert Z. Pearlman Space.com

The European Space Agency launched its fourth cargo mission to the International Space Station on Wednesday, expending great energy to lift a record amount of mass aboard a spacecraft named for the scientist famous for equating the two quantities with the expression "E=mc^2."

The European Space Agency's(ESA) Automated Transfer Vehicle-4 (ATV-4), an unmanned cargo freighter, lifted off on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana at 5:52 p.m. ET. The second-to-last of ESA's five planned station resupply spacecraft launched since 2008, ATV-4 was named "Albert Einstein" after the iconic physicist known for the theory of relativity

Einstein's theorieshave been put to the test in space and his work has guided robotic spacecraft to other planets. ATV-4 is the first spaceship to bear Einstein's name, at the suggestion of the Swiss delegation to the European Space Agency. Einstein was born in Germany but studied and spent his early career in Switzerland. [Einstein Quiz: Test Your Knowledge of the Famous Genius]

Lifting off from the jungle spaceport along South America's northeast coast, ATV-4 soared spaceward with Europe's largest-ever load of dry cargo for the station. Packed with science experiments, crew supplies, a 3-D printed tool box and even copies of Einstein's manuscript explaining the foundation for the general theory of relativity, the craft is destined to dock with the orbiting laboratory on June 15.

ESA

The European Space Agency's fourth Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV-4) mission is named for the theoretical physicist Albert Einstein.

Ten day trip and traffic delaysThe Automated Transfer Vehicle, which is about the size of a London double-decker bus with four solar array wings, has on past missions made the same International Space Station (ISS)-bound trip in half the time.

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Europe's 'Albert Einstein' spaceship is bringing the goods to space station

NASA TV

The "Albert Einstein" Automated Transfer Vehicle launches atop an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana on Wednesday. ATV-4 soared spaceward with Europe's largest-ever load of dry cargo for the station.

By Robert Z. Pearlman Space.com

The European Space Agency launched its fourth cargo mission to the International Space Station on Wednesday, expending great energy to lift a record amount of mass aboard a spacecraft named for the scientist famous for equating the two quantities with the expression "E=mc^2."

The European Space Agency's(ESA) Automated Transfer Vehicle-4 (ATV-4), an unmanned cargo freighter, lifted off on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana at 5:52 p.m. ET. The second-to-last of ESA's five planned station resupply spacecraft launched since 2008, ATV-4 was named "Albert Einstein" after the iconic physicist known for the theory of relativity

Einstein's theorieshave been put to the test in space and his work has guided robotic spacecraft to other planets. ATV-4 is the first spaceship to bear Einstein's name, at the suggestion of the Swiss delegation to the European Space Agency. Einstein was born in Germany but studied and spent his early career in Switzerland. [Einstein Quiz: Test Your Knowledge of the Famous Genius]

Lifting off from the jungle spaceport along South America's northeast coast, ATV-4 soared spaceward with Europe's largest-ever load of dry cargo for the station. Packed with science experiments, crew supplies, a 3-D printed tool box and even copies of Einstein's manuscript explaining the foundation for the general theory of relativity, the craft is destined to dock with the orbiting laboratory on June 15.

ESA

The European Space Agency's fourth Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV-4) mission is named for the theoretical physicist Albert Einstein.

Ten day trip and traffic delaysThe Automated Transfer Vehicle, which is about the size of a London double-decker bus with four solar array wings, has on past missions made the same International Space Station (ISS)-bound trip in half the time.

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'Albert Einstein' bringing the goods to space station