Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
'Jules Verne' ATV Launch Video
Jules Verne, the European Space Agency's new Automated Transfer Vehicle, lifted off successfully today. The Ariane 5ES rocket, which was making its maiden flight, lifted off from ELA-3 at the Guiana Space Centre at 04:03:04 GMT this morning.
(Ariane-5ES rocket)
The ATV is carrying eight tons of wet and dry cargo for the International Space Station. Prior to making a rendezvous with the space station, the ATV will spend several weeks in a calibration and testing mode. It will then spend about a week catching up with the ISS and then "park" about 1200 miles away to wait until after the space shuttle Endeavour comes and goes from its own mission before attempting its own autonomous docking.
The autonomous docking process will be accomplished with the aid of two new laser sensing systems that will pinpoint the ISS for docking.
(Jules Verne ATV chasing the ISS)
The Jules Verne ATV has a few special commemorative items on board, including a copy of "De la Terre à la Lune and Autour de la Lune" published during Verne's lifetime.
(Copy of "De la Terre à la Lune and Autour de la Lune"
sent to the ISS aboard the Jules Verne ATV)
Check out this video of the launch of the Jules Verne ATV; very nice video also demonstrates how the ATV is transported to the launch pad.
(Jules Verne ATV Launch video)
The most impressive feature of the Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle is that it doesn't waste any space or resources on a pilot and crew. The ATV will dock with the ISS in a completely autonomous mode. The ISS crew will have a "red button" to push if they think that the ATV is misbehaving.
I don't know who first thought of the idea of a completely autonomous take-off and docking process; here's a nice shot of the automated transfer pod from the movie Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. It performed a picture-perfect automatic docking.
(Automated shuttle from Star Trek IV)
Read more at Europe's 'Jules Verne' Spacecraft Carries Author's Notes on Maiden Voyage and the Jule's Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) ESA home page.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 3/9/2008)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 1 )
Related News Stories - (" Spacecraft ")
Europa Clipper Plate Carries A Special Message
'...a universal cryptogram — yet it is one which can be interpreted by any intelligent creature on any planet in the Solar System!' -
China Wants To Build Mega Space Ships
'Don't do anything to endanger our shipping privileges...' - Frank Herbert, 1965.
Dream Of Building Your Own Rocket?
Fiorello Bodoni, you inspire all of us.
Used Dragon Cargo Spacecraft Will Fly Again
'the overstrained meters made the smaller craft skittish as a young horse...' - Robert Heinlein
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Brin's 1990 Novel Earth Still Full Of Predictions
'... making the point that their likenesses, every move they made, were being transmitted.'
'Whisper Mode' ala Blue Thunder Researched At Bristol
'Forest Lawn.'
Gaia - Why Stop With Just The Earth?
'But the stars are only atoms in larger space, and in that larger space the star-atoms could combine to form living matter, thinking matter, couldn't they?'
Microsoft VASA-1 Creates Personal Video From A Photo
'...to build up a video picture would require, say, ten million decisions every second. Mike, you're so fast I can't even think about it. But you aren't that fast.'
Splendid View Of Eclipse From Orbit Visualized And Repurposed By Arthur C. Clarke
'The area affected was five hundred kilometres across, and perfectly circular.'
Bespoke Environment Music From AIs
'Call 'em Winter Mute," said the other, making it two words.'
Goldene - A Two-Dimensional Sheet Of Gold One Atom Thick
'Hasan always pitched a Gauzy - a one-molecule-layer tent, opaque, feather-light, and very tough.'
SpaceX Wants A Moonbase Alpha
'And he had been sent with troops, supplies and bombs to command Russia's most trusted post, the Moonbase.'
Vast Apartment Living Will Get Even More Vast
'What is your population', I asked. 'About eighty millions.'
NASA Wants Self-Driving Or Remote-Controlled Vehicles For Lunar Astronauts
'THE autobus turned silently down the wide street of Hydropole. Robot-guided, insulated from noise and cold...'
Elon Musk Says Robotaxis Will Be Ready This August, 2024
'The car had no steering wheel, and no one drove!'
Moonwalkers AI-Controlled Electric Shoes
Now that's power walking that Hugo Gernsback would have approved.
Steve Jobs: 'Capture The Next Aristotle - With AI'
'It was disturbing to think of the Flatline as a construct...'
No Tips! Robotic Food Delivery In Phoenix
'...he rewired the delivery robot so that it would serve him midnight snacks.'
Electric Catamaran 'Explorer Eco 40m' Has 'Solar Skin'
'On went the electric-yacht faster and still faster.'
Orbital Mechanics, The Liftoff, The Turnover, The Retrograde Burn
'...the huge vessel had spun, with a sickening lurch, through a complete half-circle, the instant the power was reversed.'
