Andrew Yee[_1_]
July 19th 07, 05:23 PM
ESA News
http://www.esa.int
18 July 2007
ATV starts journey to Kourou -- story in pictures
With around 400 tonnes of spacecraft and equipment for the Automated
Transfer Vehicle on board, MN Toucan set sail for Kourou from Rotterdam
harbour yesterday afternoon at around 15:30 CEST [1330 UTC]. The vessel is
expected to arrive at Europe's Spaceport, in Kourou, French Guiana, in
eleven days time.
The first Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), named Jules Verne, left ESA's
research and technology centre, ESTEC, in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, late
last Friday. The ISS re-supply cargo spacecraft was split into three
sections ahead of transportation.
Loaded on trucks, the spacecraft sections were transported by road to a
nearby harbour. From there, the large white transportation containers were
carried by canal barge to Rotterdam harbour.
Once in Rotterdam, the three containers were loaded onboard MN Toucan, a
French cargo ship which is normally used by Arianespace to transport Ariane
rocket components on the same route across the Atlantic Ocean.
[NOTE: Images and weblinks supporting this release are available at
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMEDBB474F_index_1.html ]
http://www.esa.int
18 July 2007
ATV starts journey to Kourou -- story in pictures
With around 400 tonnes of spacecraft and equipment for the Automated
Transfer Vehicle on board, MN Toucan set sail for Kourou from Rotterdam
harbour yesterday afternoon at around 15:30 CEST [1330 UTC]. The vessel is
expected to arrive at Europe's Spaceport, in Kourou, French Guiana, in
eleven days time.
The first Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), named Jules Verne, left ESA's
research and technology centre, ESTEC, in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, late
last Friday. The ISS re-supply cargo spacecraft was split into three
sections ahead of transportation.
Loaded on trucks, the spacecraft sections were transported by road to a
nearby harbour. From there, the large white transportation containers were
carried by canal barge to Rotterdam harbour.
Once in Rotterdam, the three containers were loaded onboard MN Toucan, a
French cargo ship which is normally used by Arianespace to transport Ariane
rocket components on the same route across the Atlantic Ocean.
[NOTE: Images and weblinks supporting this release are available at
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMEDBB474F_index_1.html ]