Jules Verne ATV atop launcher

Jules Verne, the first Automated Transfer Vehicle, has been encapsulated in its huge fairing on top of the Ariane 5 launcher. With a total mass of about 19 360 kg, Jules Verne is the largest payload ever launched by Ariane 5. This historical mission with the first European space supplier for the ISS is scheduled for a night time launch on 8 March at 04.23 UT.

In mid-February, Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), having been filled with a total of 6.5 tonnes of four different propellants and 20 kg of oxygen, was transferred in a payload container from the S5 building to the Ariane 5 Final Assembly Building at Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Since then, Ariane 5 and ATV have been undergoing a complex combined operations plan.

The 19.4-tonne Jules Verne mass represents more than twice the heaviest single payload Ariane 5 has ever lifted in the past, including Envisat, ESA's 8-tonne environment satellite. To handle such a heavyweight, the Vehicle Equipment Bay which supports the ATV on top of the launcher, has been structurally redesigned and strengthened.

Through the upper level of the Final Assembly Building - the so-called 'chimney' - the cylindrical ATV was installed on top of Ariane 5 and carefully bolted to the launcher interface.

“Seeing the fairing encapsulation on Jules Verne was on the one hand a very exciting step in the final countdown to launch. On the other hand it was rather sad as we all knew we will not see again on Earth our old friend who we have been working with so closely over so many years,” said John Ellwood, ESA's ATV Project Manager.

During the coming week all connections – electrical, pyrotechnical and fluid interfaces – will be checked on ATV and Ariane 5. The entire spacecraft will be activated to check the spacecraft’s 'health', and to charge the batteries once again.