Dubbed "Hules Verne", a 20-tonne unmanned freighter left the Kourou spaceport in South America at 0403 (GMT) today, officially taking Europe into the space-age.

"With the launch of the ATV, we are embarking on an extraordinary voyage,", said European Space Agency chief, Jean Jacques Dordain.

The 20-tonne beast will provide fuel and waste disposal for the $100 Billion ISS (International Space Station.

Docking on 3 April, the ATV will dock without any human assistance.

The ATV will be carrying the following:


Total cargo: 4,860kg
1,340kg - 'dry' supplies
20kg - air (oxygen/nitrogen)
280kg - drinking water
860kg - propellant for ISS
2,360kg - reboost propellant
The ship itself has 3,490kg of propellant for rendezvous, re-boost and de-orbit manoeuvres

Fire Drill

"First, we have to deploy the solar panels, antennas, and check out everything. Then there will be a major operation in the next few days when we will test out what is known as the 'escape procedure'"

said Robert Laine of EADS Astrium, one of the main contractors.

Here's my favourite quote:

"It will be as if the red button has been pressed, which tells the ATV everything is lost and it must get out of the way. This is a major milestone insisted on by the US space agency to prove the emergency systems work.".

"Everything is lost" - wow. Very 'Armageddon'.

4 More ATV's are planned in the future, I say "Charge on, Jules, until 'all is lost'!"

Graham